Nirmala Sitharaman Reviews Performance of 10 RRBs of Southern Region

Bengaluru: Union Finance and Corporate Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Saturday reviewed performance of 10 Regional Rural Banks (RRBs) of Sourn Region in Bengaluru. 
Union Finance Minister reviewed performance of RRBs of Karnataka, Tamil Nu, Andhra Presh, Telangana, Kerala and UT of Puducherry, Ministry of Finance stated in a post on social media platform X.

meeting was also attended by Union Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary, Department of Financial Services (DFS) secretary, senior officials from DFS, officials from state governments, representatives of SIDBI, NABARD, stakeholders of RRBs, and sponsor banks.

Finance Minister has been reviewing performance of RRBs across country due to ir crucial role in supporting rural ecomy.
In August, during a meeting with RRBs in Delhi, Union Finance Minister urged RRBs and ir sponsor banks to put greater thrust on clear identification of beneficiaries while sanctioning loans under various schemes such as PM Vishwakarma and PM Surya Ghar Muft Bijli Yojana. 

RRBs, during meeting, were also directed to increase ir share in ground-level agriculture credit disbursement.

During a presentation in review meeting, Sitharaman appreciated RRBs for improvement in ir financial performance and techlogy upgres ever since regular review was initiated in 2022 and has also urged rural banks to continue momentum in future.

Sitharaman underlined that all RRBs must have ir own up-to-date techlogy stack to stay relevant and ted that digital banking services like mobile banking will be a boon for regions with relatively challenging physical connectivity (like rth Eastern states and hilly regions). 

sponsor banks have a significant role in se endeavours by providing technical assistance, sharing best practices, and ensuring that RRBs have access to resources y need to succeed.

During meeting, Union Finance Minister emphasised active outreach by RRB branches located in MSME clusters to ensure credit to small and micro enterprises in areas like textile, handicrafts, wooden furniture, clay pots, jute handicrafts, lear, food processing, dairy farming, packing materials etc. that hold immense potential for increasing loan portfolio for RRBs.

Sitharaman exhorted all RRBs to devise suitable MSME products aligning with ir cluster activities and lever personal and local connections to increase banking penetration. SIDBI was directed to assist RRBs in exploring co-lending/risk-sharing models and extending refinance for MSME portfolio.

She also asked Sponsor Banks and RRBs to recognise challenges that lie ahe and to continue focusing on maintaining asset quality, expanding digital services, and ensuring robust corporate governance.