Venkaiah to banks: increase lending to SHGs, self-employed

Commercial banks should shed their reluctance to lend to the urban poor, Minister of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation M Venkaiah Naidu said on Monday.

Speaking at the National Conference on ‘National Urban Livelihoods Mission’ here, Naidu stressed the need for enhanced credit flow to the self-help groups and for self-employment through individual and group enterprises under the mission.

“Loan repayment by self-help groups is 98 per cent and hence, were most bankable and eligible for lending,” Naidu said, expressing concern over inadequate credit linkages to such groups in the States in the Northern and Eastern regions of the country with the Southern States accounting for 62 per cent of total credit linkage of ₹3,173 crore advanced during the last two years under the mission.

The Minister said that with several initiatives being taken to promote domestic and foreign direct investment in various sectors, there is a vast scope for employment generation leading to increased demand for skilled manpower.

The Minister for Skill Development and Entrepreneurship Rajiv Pratap Rudy said that an integrated eco-system is being put in place for skilling of 30 crore people while 24 Ministries were involved in handling 70 skill development programmes.

Rudy expressed concern over skills not being given due recognition as a result of which ‘in our country there are no professors of carpentry or plumbing’. He also urged the banks to accept skill certification issued by approved agencies for advancing loans to skilled people.

“Promotion of financial literacy among the beneficiaries as part of skill certification under skill development programmes can enable them with better management of money and enterprises for further growth in chosen area of career development,” Minister of State for Finance Jayant Sinha said.