The Hindu Business Line : Karnataka Vikas Bank to focus on agri, SME sectors

The Dharwad-headquartered Karnataka Vikas Grameena Bank is planning to give more thrust on agriculture and SMEs (small and medium enterprises) sectors for credit disbursement during the current financial year.

The bank — which has operations in Dharwad, Gadag, Haveri, Bijapur, Bagalkot, Belgaum, Uttara Kannada, Udupi and Dakshina Kannada districts of Karnataka — was formed after amalgamating four Syndicate Bank-sponsored regional rural banks in September 2005.

The Chairman of the bank, Mr B.S. Surendra, told Business Line that this being the third year with regard to doubling of agriculture credit, thrust would be given to increase flow of credit to farm sector by increasing disbursement under production credit and investment credit.

Stating that the target under disbursement to agriculture is Rs 581 crore for the current fiscal, he said the combined disbursement of the four regional rural banks — Malaprabha, Bijapur, Varada and Netravati — to agriculture sector was Rs 350.82 crore (Rs 210.52 crore) during 2005-06. With this, the bank recorded a growth of 66.67 per cent in agriculture credit disbursement in the last fiscal. However, the erstwhile Malaprabha Grameena Bank had achieved 99.69 per cent growth in the first year itself (at the end of March 2005) after the Union Finance Minister gave a call to double the flow of credit to agriculture in June 2004, he said.

Thrust will also be given to increase credit flow to SME sector, and the bank has set a target of disbursing Rs 30 crore for this sector. Steps will be taken to popularise `Vikas Udyam' scheme of the bank. This scheme offers collateral free loans up to Rs 5 lakh, he said.

BRANCH EXPANSION

The bank, which has 387 branches, is planning to cross the 400 mark during the fiscal. Mr Surendra said that the bank is planning to open 15 branches in its area of operation. While Dakshina Kannada and Belgaum districts will get four branches each, Udupi and Gadag will get one branch each. Dharwad district will get two more branches and Haveri three branches during the current fiscal.

The bank opened its first ATM — `Siri Sugama' — at Dharwad on May 28. It will be opening 20 ATMs during the year, he added.

More Stories on : Regional Rural Banks | Credit Market | SSI | Karnataka

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