IOB lends Rs. 19,932 crore for agriculture sector

IOB lends Rs. 19,932 crore for agriculture sector

Mangalore Today News Network

Mangalore, July 21, 2012: Indian Overseas Bank (IOB) Chairman M. Narendra said that IOB has been reaching its regulatory targets under agricultural advances year after year. At the end of March 2012, the total agricultural lending was Rs 19,932 crores out of which direct the agriculture loan amount was more than Rs 16,650 crores, he added.

He was speaking at a Press Meet held at Press Club on July 21, Saturday. He said that the agriculture portfolio in all banks generally comprise standard products like crop loans, KCC, dairy, poultry and pure investment loans like tractors loans and others. But IOB has some special and unique products under agriculture, which are not available in other banks.

 

Providing information about various IOB schemes, he said that the bank has introduced urban horticulture, which is meant for people from all walks of life, like service holders, professionals and even institutions who want to raise kitchen gardens or flower garden in the open space of their own residence, including terraces and rooftops. This scheme also helps in making the city green. The other schemes are Sagara Lakshmi, Bhoomi Shakti, Bhoomi Laxmi, Investment Credit, and Special Agriculture Credit Branches.

He also said that, as part of a rural initiative under CSR, M S Swaminathan Research Foundation is building 5 farm schools with funding by IOB, Max Academy is educating rural children with financial support from IOB, Friends of Tribal Society is funded by IOB to spread education, lessons in hygiene and healthcare, basic awareness on civil matters among tribal students through their ‘Ekal Vidyalaya’ concept, IOB Sampoorna has adopted 91 villages in various states for holistic village development. Financial and non-financial inputs are provided, like rural libraries, solar lamps, scholarships to girl students, health care and sanitation facilities, de-silting of village ponds, and so on.

Speaking on the financial inclusion, he said that IOB covered all 1296 villages allotted to it by SLBC’s of various states well ahead of the given deadline. In addition to these 1296 villages, IOB has also covered 115 villages, which were not allotted to the Bank. Thus the total number of villages covered is 1411, he said.

IOB is now busy in covering villages having population below 2000. Although the number of such villages allotted to the bank is only 500, IOB will exceed this number by a very wide margin before March 2013, he said. He also said that not only are the villages provided with banking facility through BC Model, but they are also supported by meeting the individual credit need of all eligible persons residing the villages. 

IOB has also introduced schemes like IOB gold schemes for businessman, IOB chartered accountant schemes, IOB engineer scheme, IOB micro one scheme, IOB SME loan and two special schemes like IOB career dream, and IOB Scholar Scheme.

Senior Regional Manager K Anil was present at the press meet.