Financial Sector

• Financial Inclusion: Two recommendations of the Committee on Financial Inclusion proposed to be accepted viz
  
  (i) to advise commercial banks, including RRBs, to add at least 250 rural household accounts every year at each of their rural and semi-urban branches; and
  
  (ii) to allow individuals such as retired bank officers, ex-servicemen etc to be appointed as business facilitator or business correspondent or credit counselor; banks to be encouraged to embrace concept of Total Financial Inclusion;
  
  Government to request all scheduled commercial banks to follow the example set by some public sector banks and meet the entire credit requirements of SHG members, namely, income generation activities, social needs like housing, education, marriage etc., and debt swapping.
  
  (i) Fund of Rs.5,000 crore to be created in NABARD to enhance its refinance operations to short term cooperative credit institutions;
  
  (ii) Two funds of Rs.2,000 crore each to be created in SIDBI - one for risk capital financing and other for enhancing refinance capability to the MSME sector.
  
  (iii) Fund of Rs.1,200 crore to be created in NHB to enhance its refinance operations in the rural housing sector.
  
  
• These funds are to be governed by the general guidelines that are now applicable to RIDF with some modifications.
  
  
• Differential Rate of Interest (DRI) scheme: Borrower's eligibility criteria for loan under the DRI scheme to the weaker sections of the community engaged in gainful occupations enhanced.