AP Grameena Vikas Bank to give cattle as loan

Starting a new trend in rural credit, the State Bank of India-sponsored Andhra Pradesh Grameena Vikas Bank (APGVB) is directly distributing milk cattle instead of cash to 1,000 families in Vizianagaram district on Tuesday.

The bank has devised an end-to-end scheme wherein the Visakha Dairy will procure milk from each of these families and credit the amount to their accounts opened by the bank.

The bank, in turn, will deduct the regular installments towards loan repayment and keep the extra earnings at the beneficiary's disposal.

Speaking to the media here on Saturday, K Anantha Krishna, chairman and managing director of APGVB, said, the cattle had been procured with the help of a committee comprising veterinary experts.

The cost of these cattle is Rs 12,000 each. The bank has already entered into a tie-up with Visakha Dairy for the procurement of milk from all the 1,000 families, he added.

The bank, headquartered at Warangal, was formed with the amalgamation of the five regional rural banks being operational in eight districts.

Krishna said besides farm credit, the bank was equally focusing on women self-help groups in these districts.

According to him, Rs 267 crore, 12 per cent of the total loan portion of the bank, had gone to SHGs.

The bank is also implementing 100 per cent coverage of families in terms of opening bank accounts in about 430 villages in Srikakulam district this year. It is also planning to set up low-cost ATMs in all the eight district headquarters on a standalone basis, he said.

Keen to become a Rs 5,000-crore turnover bank by the end of the current financial year, APGVB is planning to increase the business in non-interest related activities such as issuance of demand drafts and bank guarantees as the interest earnings on farm credit have come down due to lowering of interest rates by the government. It is planning to establish 32 more branches in addition to 485 branches currently operational.