The Hindu Business Line : Rule soon for housing mortgage guarantee cos

In addition to the important legislative measures now before Parliament, the Government proposes to take a number of initiatives in banking and insurance.

The Government proposes to acquire RBI's equity holding in State Bank of India. I have provided a sum of Rs 40,000 crore for this purpose, but the transaction will be deficit neutral to the Government.

The Differential Rate of Interest (DRI) scheme provides finance at a rate of 4 per cent to the weaker sections of the community engaged in gainful occupations. I propose to raise the limit of the loan from Rs 6,500 to Rs 15,000 and the limit of the housing loan from Rs 5,000 to Rs 20,000 per beneficiary.

Regional rural banks (RRBs) have emerged as the third arm for delivering rural credit, and the sponsor banks have assured me that RRBs are willing to take on greater responsibilities. The Committee on Financial Inclusion, chaired by Dr C. Rangarajan, has also made certain recommendations concerning RRBs. I, therefore, propose to:

* Ask RRBs to undertake an aggressive branch expansion programme and, in 2007-08, open at least one branch in the 80 uncovered districts of the country;

* Extend the Securitisation and Reconstruction of Financial Assets and Enforcement of Securitisation of Interest (SARFAESI) Act to loans advanced by RRBs;

* Permit RRBs to accept NRE/FCNR deposits; and

* Recapitalise, in a phased programme, the RRBs which have a negative net worth.

The National Housing Bank (NHB) will shortly introduce a novel product for senior citizens: a `reverse mortgage' under which a senior citizen who is the owner of a house can avail of a monthly stream of income against the mortgage of his/her house, while remaining the owner and occupying the house throughout his/her lifetime, without repayment or servicing of the loan.

Our people want housing loans. Banks and housing finance companies that lend against mortgages would have greater comfort if the mortgage can be guaranteed through a three-way contract among borrower, lender and guarantor. Regulations will be put in place to allow the creation of mortgage guarantee companies.

On December 6, 2006, Rashtrapatiji launched an exclusive health insurance scheme for senior citizens offered by National Insurance Company. I have asked the other three public sector insurance companies to offer a similar product to senior citizens, and they have agreed to do so in 2007-08.

The Micro Financial Sector (Development and Regulation) Bill as well as a comprehensive Bill to amend the insurance laws will be introduced in the Budget Session.

Financial inclusion is the process of ensuring access to timely and adequate credit and financial services by vulnerable groups at an affordable cost.

Panel submits interim report

The Committee on Financial Inclusion has given an interim report. While we await the final report, the Government has decided to implement, immediately, two recommendations.

The first is to establish a Financial Inclusion Fund with Nabard for meeting the cost of developmental and promotional interventions.

The second is to establish a Financial Inclusion Technology Fund to meet the costs of technology adoption. Each fund will have an overall corpus of Rs 500 crore, with initial funding to be contributed by the Government, RBI and Nabard.

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