credit flow made higher demands for resources under the fund. on the contrary, states with lower credit flow were lagging in borrowing funds from ridf. thus, the least developed states which are already credit starved are getting lower share of funds from the ridf. this highlights the need to break this vicious cycle and think of certain measures by which funds can be earmarked to the most backward / credit starved regions to ensure speedier development of the most backward areas in the country. we may also have to think of ways to incentivise banks to lend in these backward areas so that both demand and supply side issues are addressed. these issues and challenges impinge on the efficiency, inclusiveness and sustainability of the agricultural credit system, which is a matter of concern. internal working group set up by rbi 12. considering this, rbi had set up an internal working group ( iw g ) in february 2019, to understand the issues and recommend workable solutions to address the constraints. the iw g based on extensive data analysis and research held extensive consultations and deliberations with experts and practitioners in the field and submitted its report in september 2019. 13. the recommendations of the iw g include building up of an enabling ecosystem through digitisation of land records, reforming of land leasing framework, creation of a national level agency to build consensus among the state governments and central government with regard to agriculture - related policy reforms and innovative digital solutions to bridge the information gap between the banks and farmers for expediting the credit delivery process. other policy interventions recommended are - suitable modifications in the priority sector lending guidelines applicable to all banks and strengthening of credit delivery channels through kisan credit cards, self - help group bank linkage programme, farmer producers organisations, in a manner to make them more effective and efficient in ensuring credit flow to the credit starved 3 / 5 bis central bankers'speeches regions of the country, as also to the excluded segments of the farming community. rbi would be initiating necessary steps for implementing these recommendations as these would go a long way in ensuring the long - term sustainability and viability of the indian agriculture sector. financial inclusion 14. financial inclusion ( fi ) is a policy thrust area for rbi and as a result of the various initiatives, tremendous progress has been made in the domain of financial inclusion since the country set out in mission mode about 10 years ago. further, with the launch of pradhan mantri jan dhan yojana ( pmjdy ), almost every household has

european central bank : press conference - introductory statement introductory statement by mr jean - claude trichet, president of the european central bank and mr lucas papademos, vice - president of the european central bank, frankfurt am main, 7 april 2005. * * * ladies and gentlemen, it is our pleasure to welcome you to this press conference. the vice - president and i will now report on the outcome of today ’ s meeting of the governing council of the ecb, which was also attended by commissioner almunia. all in all, we have not changed our assessment of risks to price stability over the medium term. so far, we have seen no significant evidence of underlying domestic inflationary pressures building up in the euro area. accordingly, we have left the key ecb interest rates unchanged. both nominal and real interest rates are at exceptionally low levels, lending ongoing support to economic activity. however, upside risks to price stability over the medium term remain and continued vigilance is therefore of the essence. i shall now explain our assessment in more detail, turning first to the economic analysis. recent data and survey indicators on economic activity have been mixed. in general they point to ongoing economic growth at a moderate pace over the short term, with no clear signs as yet of a strengthening in underlying dynamics. looking further ahead, the conditions remain in place for moderate economic growth to continue. global growth remains solid, providing a favourable environment for euro area exports. on the domestic side, investment is expected to continue to be supported by very favourable financing conditions, improved profits and greater business efficiency. consumption growth should develop in line with real disposable income growth. however, at the same time, persistently high oil prices in particular pose downside risks to growth. turning to consumer prices, eurostat ’ s flash estimate for annual hicp inflation was 2. 1 % in march, unchanged from february. in the coming months, annual inflation rates are likely to remain somewhat above 2 %, although the exact figure will depend largely on how oil prices develop. looking further ahead, so far we have seen no significant evidence of underlying domestic inflationary pressures building up in the euro area. wage increases have remained contained over recent quarters and, in the context of moderate economic growth and weak labour markets, this trend is likely to continue for the time being. however, upside risks to price stability remain. given recent oil price rises, it is once again paramount that second - round effects stemming from wage and price - setting