Nitish Kumar flays bankers for poor performance in state schemes

He asked banks to invest in improving their infrastructure, so that public can get better service

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar asked the bankers to improve their performance and change their work culture as the state government aims for higher growth rate after the implementation of Goods and Services Tax (GST), which is scheduled for July 1.
 
Kumar, while addressing the diamond jubilee meeting of State Level Bankers' Committee (SLBC) on Wednesday, told the banks to invest in improving banking infrastructure, so that public can get better service.
 
"Bihar is a land of opportunities... The banks have been sitting on huge pile of deposits, but their credit outflow is still very low. I have been pushing you (the bankers) to improve the Credit-Deposit (CD) Ratio for a decade now, still it's been hovering around 43 to 44 per cent. In fact, it has come down this year, which means there is limited flow of credit in the state. It affects our growth prospects," Kumar told the bankers.
 
He noted that while Bihar is suffering poor credit flow, some of the developed states in the country have a CD ratio of more than 100 per cent. "Despite all the limitations, we have been growing in double digits. After the GST, our speed will only increase. Bihar consists 8.2 per cent of India's population, whereas our share in country's GDP is only 3.2 per cent. We want match our share in GDP with our share in country's population. We need your support to get their," CM told the bankers.
 
As some bankers raised concerns over the security of the currency chest in Bihar, the Chief Minister announced that the state government has decided to raise two battalions of State Industrial Security Force. He said, "You raised concerns about the security. We have completed the paperworks to raise two battalions of SISF, which will be based in Begusarai and Buxar districts. We are ready to help you in every context."
 
The Chief Minister, however, expressed deep dismay over poor performance of the banks in government schemes. He asked senior officials of the financial institutions to invest in improving banking infrastructure.
 
"Bankers have to improve their performances, especially at the branch level... We have encountered cases where electronic money transfers in the social schemes have been held up by the banks for months. Our Student Credit Card scheme has not taken off because banks have not shown interest in it. It's unacceptable as it fails the basic objectives of such schemes," he added.
 
"You also need to look into improving banking infrastructure. The state is suffering from huge shortage of bank branches and I have been pointing towards it for a long time now. The RBI had ordered banks to open at least 1,680 bank branches in the state in previous financial year, but only 183 were opened. At least open one branch at Panchayat level. You can open them at our Panchayat Bhawans," said the Chief Minister.