Chandigarh, Nov 29 (PTI) Haryana Chief Secretary Vivek Joshi on Friday called on bankers to launch a special campaign to reactivate the inactive accounts under the Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY) and to encourage nomination updates in the depositor bank accounts.

Presiding over the 170th meeting of the State Level Bankers Committee (SLBC), Joshi highlighted the critical need to re-engage the beneficiaries whose accounts have become inactive for a prolonged period.

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He emphasised that activating these dormant accounts would enable the account holders to fully utilise the benefits of PMJDY and promote the overall objectives of financial inclusion.

According to an official statement issued here, Joshi also urged the banks to ensure widespread awareness among the account holders about the importance of updating nominations in their accounts to secure their deposits and streamline the claims process in unforeseen circumstances.

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The chief secretary stressed the role of banks in empowering the economically weaker sections of society by facilitating access to government welfare schemes and financial services.

Joshi also called for collaborative efforts to strengthen Haryana's financial ecosystem and maximise the impact of the initiatives aimed at inclusive growth.

The statement said Joshi also urged the bankers to expedite the approval and disbursement of loans under the PM Suraj Kiran Yojana, a scheme aimed at providing free electricity to households by installing solar panels on their rooftops.

He highlighted that in addition to the Central government subsidy, the Haryana government is also providing additional subsidies to the consumers, emphasising that banks should swiftly clear loans under the scheme as they face minimal risk in approving them.

Responding to RBI Regional Director Vivek Srivastava on enhancing the digital ecosystem in Haryana, Joshi urged the bankers to take proactive measures to raise awareness about the benefits and use of digital payment systems.

To promote and increase the adoption of digital payments, Joshi suggested setting up dedicated counters in the district secretariats, mini secretariats, and SDM offices across the state, where a large number of people visit daily.

He also directed the bankers to organise regular meetings in collaboration with the district administrations with a particular focus on MSME institutions to address and resolve their grievances.

Expressing satisfaction with the current credit-deposit (CD) ratio of 87 per cent, he urged the bankers to set higher targets in line with states that have achieved higher CD ratios to further enhance credit distribution and financial inclusion.

The chief secretary also urged the bankers to expedite loan approvals under the PM Vishwakarma Scheme, which supports artisans and craftspeople practising traditional skills.

Commending Haryana's performance across various financial parameters, Srivastava highlighted the need for improvement in credit flow to the agriculture and weaker sectors.

He also encouraged the underperforming private sector banks to actively participate in various government schemes, noting that this would greatly support the SLBC's efforts in achieving its targets and goals.

During a review meeting, Kalyan Kumar, Executive Director, Punjab National Bank, outlined the roadmap for achieving the financial targets set for FY 2024-25.

Stating that Haryana's banking sector reported a total deposit base of Rs 7,72,496 crore and total advances of Rs 6,72,887 crore as of September 2024, he said this represents a year-on-year growth of Rs 82,663 crore (11.98 per cent) in deposits and Rs 99,626 crore (17.38 per cent) in advances.

Additionally, priority sector advances saw an increase of Rs 30,894 crore (13.27 per cent), reflecting the banking institutions' strengthened focus on key sectors such as agriculture and MSMEs, Kumar said.

Also, banks demonstrated impressive performance in achieving priority sector lending (PSL) targets for September 2024 with the overall achievement for the month reaching a commendable 133 per cent.

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