Centre plans fresh Jan Dhan-MUDRA saturation drive in Bengal, eyes wider credit access
The Centre will launch a fresh saturation drive in West Bengal to expand coverage of flagship financial inclusion and social security schemes, while also stepping
The Centre will launch a fresh saturation drive in West Bengal to expand coverage of flagship financial inclusion and social security schemes, while also stepping up efforts to improve credit access for businesses, MSMEs and rural borrowers, finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on Monday. These schemes include Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana, Pradhan Mantri MUDRA Yojana, Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana, Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana, Atal Pension Yojana and PM SVANidhi, according to the official press statement. The announcement came during a meeting in New Delhi with Suvendu Adhikari, during which the issue of credit availability across sectors in West Bengal and the implementation of central government schemes were discussed, according to a finance ministry statement.
Also Read | Govt may protect bank deposits up to ₹7.5 lakh Upon Adhikari's request, Sitharaman said roundtable meetings involving public sector banks, industry bodies and MSME associations would be held across different regions of the state to improve credit availability. The initiative aims to support industrial development, entrepreneurship and employment generation in West Bengal. Rural lending The finance minister also said the performance of West Bengal Gramin Bank would be reviewed, with a focus on strengthening financial inclusion and expanding access to formal credit in rural areas. She further assured support for processing eligible proposals from West Bengal under the Special Assistance to States for Capital Investment (SASCI) scheme to strengthen capital infrastructure in the state and urged the state government to expedite reforms identified under the reform-linked component of the scheme.
The renewed push on central schemes comes amid a broader review by the Union government of the implementation status of key programmes in West Bengal. Also Read | West Bengal to join Digital Agriculture Mission soon Earlier, Mint reported on 8 May that the Union government had launched a comprehensive review of central schemes in West Bengal following the Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) decisive victory in the state assembly elections, according to three people aware of the development. Implementation roadmap A fractious relationship between the state and Centre—run by the Trinamool Congress (TMC) and the BJP-led Democratic Alliance (NDA), respectively—meant several central schemes became mired in disputes. Now, with the BJP winning an absolute majority in the state assembly, the Centre has directed ministries to identify schemes that remained stalled, under-implemented or non-operational under the outgoing TMC government.
The BriefWire