The stipulation that 18 per cent of bank credit flow to agriculture needs to be reviewed since contribution of the sector to GDP has come down.
This is one of the suggestions put forward by the All India Bank Officers’ Confederation (AIBOC) to a meeting of stakeholders convened by the Prime Minister in Pune in the New Year.
Called Gyaan Sangam, the meeting is intended to come out with a blue print of reform action plan for the banking sector, but representatives of bank employees have not been invited.
The AIBOC, that claims to represent 80 per cent of the officer population, has taken on itself the task conveying its suggestions to the highest level, according to union sources.
It has written to the Prime Minister, the Finance Minister, the RBI Governor, and the Department of Financial Services in the Ministry of Finance in this regard.
It has called for an urgent need to revise classification of rural branches for public sector banks, which continues to be based on the 1981 census.
Banks should be instructed to provide only need-based finance for agriculture and align strictly with the prescribed scale of finance.
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Borrowers should ensure end use of subvention. In case of failure, penal provisions should be invoked, the confederation said.
False declarations/certificates on income criteria or end use of loans should be treated as offences, the confederation demanded.
As per data presented in the Parliament, loans written off by PSBs have soared from ₹20,752 crore in 2011-12 to ₹32,992 crore in 2012-13 and further to ₹42,447 crore in 2013-14.
Willful default should be made a criminal offence. The relevant law should be amended to this effect. Willful defaulters should not be considered for one-time settlement.
Fast track courts and summary trials should be instituted for recovery of bank dues.
Discretion given to appellate authority of DRT to waive deposit should be revisited. At least 50 per cent of the decreed amount should be mandatorily made applicable for allowing an appeal.
There should be clear cut guidance for granting stay under SARFESI. Indiscriminate granting of stay on actions under this should be stopped, the union said.