Lok Sabha Question No. 2976 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2023-08-07
Subject: Welfare Schemes by Banks for SCs/STs
Ministry: FINANCE
Asked by: Haji Fazlur Rehman

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF FINANCE

## DEPARTMENT OF FINANCIAL SERVICES

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2976

## TO BE ANSWERED ON THE 7 th  AUGUST 2023, / Sravana 16, 1945 (Saka)

## Welfare Schemes by Banks for SCs/STs QUESTION

## 2976. SHRI HAJI FAZLUR REHMAN

Will the Minister of Finance be pleased to state:

- (a) Whether the Government has proposed to set up the Urban Infrastructure Development fund (UIDF) through use of priority Sector lending shortfall for creating urban infrastructure in Tier two and Tier three cities;
- (b) If so, the details thereof;
- (c) Whether the national Housing Bank is proposed to manage UIDF and public agencies would use the fund to create infrastructure and if so, the details thereof;
- (d) Whether the UIDF is aimed to push real estate players seeking land parcels in the emerging cities to develop residential and commercial properties and if so, the details thereof; and
- (e) the other steps being taken by the Government in this regard?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF FINANCE

(DR. BHAGWAT KARAD)

(a) &(b) Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has prescribed an overall target of 40% of Adjusted Net Bank Credit (ANBC) for lending to the Priority Sector. Within this, a sub-target of 12 % of ANBC has been mandated for lending to weaker sections.

Additionally, all banks channelize concessional loans to borrowers of the Scheduled Castes as per scheme guidelines formulated by Central or State Government from time to time.

Details of some schemes which find mention in the RBI's circular on credit facilities to Scheduled Castes (SCs) & Scheduled Tribes (STs) dated 1 st April 2023 are included in Annexure.

c)  &  (d)  The  credit  to  Scheduled Castes by  Public Sector Banks  under Priority Sector  Lending during the last two years is given below:

(No. of A/c in Actuals and Amount outstanding in ₹Crore)

| As on March 2022   | As on March 2022   | As on March 2023   | As on March 2023   |
|--------------------|--------------------|--------------------|--------------------|
| A/cs               | Amt                | A/cs               | Amt                |
| 40,03,657          | 65,903             | 39,50,542          | 64,925             |

Source: RBI

To ensure adequate flow of credit to the SCs, RBI has put in place a detailed monitoring mechanism which, inter-alia , provides the following measures to be taken by the banks:

- Special cell set up at the Head Office of banks for monitoring the flow of credit to SC/ST beneficiaries.
- The Head Office of banks periodically review credit extended to SCs/STs on the basis of returns and other data received from the branches.

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## A. Reservations for SC/ST beneficiaries under major Centrally Sponsored Schemes is given below:

## (i) Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana - National Rural Livelihoods Mission (DAY-NRLM)

DAY-NRLM (previously known as NRLM) was launched by the Ministry of Rural Development, Government of India by w.e.f  April 1, 2013. The  aim of the  Mission  is  to  reduce  poverty  by enabling  the  poor  households  to  access  gainful  self-employment  and  skilled  wage  employment opportunities  resulting  in  appreciable  improvement  in  their  livelihoods  on  a  sustainable  basis, through building strong and sustainable grassroots institutions of the poor. DAY-NRLM ensures adequate coverage of vulnerable sections of the society such that 50% of these beneficiaries are SCs/STs.

## (ii) Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana - National

## Urban Livelihoods Mission (DAY-NULM)

The Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA), Government of India, launched the DAYNULM w.e.f September 24, 2013. The aim of the Mission is to reduce poverty and vulnerability of the urban poor households by enabling them to access gainful self-employment and skilled wage employment  opportunities.  The  mission  also  addresses  livelihood  concerns  of  the  urban  street vendors by facilitating access to suitable spaces, institutional credit, social security and skills to the urban street vendors for accessing emerging market opportunities. Under DAY-NULM, advances are extended to SCs/STs to the extent of their strength in the local population.

## (iii) Differential Rate of Interest (DRI) Scheme

Under the DRI Scheme, banks provide finance up to ₹15,000/- at a concessional rate of interest of 4 per cent per annum to the weaker sections of the community for engaging in productive and gainful activities. In order to ensure that persons belonging to SCs/STs also derive adequate benefit under the DRI Scheme, banks have been advised to grant eligible borrowers belonging to SCs/STs such advances to the extent of not less than 2/5th (40 percent) of total DRI advances. Further, the eligibility criteria under DRI, viz. size of land holding should not exceed 1 acre of irrigated land and 2.5 acres of unirrigated land, are not applicable to SCs/STs. Members of SCs/STs satisfying the income criteria of the scheme can also avail of housing loan up to ₹20,000/- per beneficiary over and above the individual loan of ₹15,000/- available under the scheme.

## (iv) Credit Enhancement Guarantee Scheme for Scheduled Castes (CEGSSC)

The CEGSSC was launched by Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment on May 6, 2015 with the objective of promoting entrepreneurship amongst the Scheduled Castes (SCs), by providing credit  enhancement  guarantee  to  Member  Lending  Institutions  (MLIs),  which  extend  financial assistance to entrepreneurs belonging to SC communities. IFCI Ltd. has been designated as the

Nodal Agency under the scheme, to issue the guarantee cover in favour of MLIs for financing SC entrepreneurs. Individual SC  entrepreneurs/Registered Companies and Societies/Registered Partnership Firms/Sole Proprietorship firms having more than 51% shareholding and management control  for  the  previous  6  months  by  SC  entrepreneurs/  promoters/members  are  eligible  for guarantee from IFCI Ltd. against the loans extended by MLIs. The amount of guarantee cover under CEGSSC ranges from a minimum of ₹0.15 cr to a maximum of ₹5.00 cr. The tenure of guarantee is up to a maximum of 7 years or repayment period, whichever is earlier

## B. Stand-Up India Scheme

The Stand-Up India Scheme launched on 5th April 2016 aims to promote entrepreneurship among the Scheduled Caste/ Scheduled Tribe and Women by facilitating bank loans of value between Rs.10 lakh and Rs.100 lakh to at least one SC/ ST borrower and one-woman borrower per bank branch of Scheduled  Commercial  Banks  for  setting  up  Greenfield  enterprises  in  trading,  manufacturing, services sectors and activities allied to agriculture.  In 2019-20, the Stand-Up India scheme was extended for the entire period coinciding with the 15th Finance Commission period of 2020-25.

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