Now, PAN card optional for student credit card scheme co-borrowers in Bihar

SLBC meet stresses on seeding Aadhaar card with all bank accounts of social welfare schemes beneficiaries.

Submission of PAN cards has ceased to be mandatory for co-borrowers in loans taken out under the student credit card scheme, under which students are entitled to get loans up to a sum of Rs 4 lakh for higher studies.It would henceforth be optional.

Bihar finance minister Abdul Bari Siddiqui addressing state level bankers’ meet in Patna on Friday. (AP Dube/HT Photo)

This was decided on Friday at a state level bankers’ committee ((SLBC) meeting, chaired by state finance minister Abdul Bari Siddiqui. Chief secretary Anjani Kumar Singh, cooperative minister Alok Mehta and top officials of prominent commercial and private banks were present.

“Giving PAN number by co-borrowers under the student credit card scheme would henceforth be optional,” said the chief secretary.

The new provision is aimed to ease the process of securing the loans and give relief to parents not having PAN cards but want to become co-borrowers in loans disbursed to their wards.

The other key decisions taken at the review meeting of banking operations was to stress on seeding Aadhaar card with all bank accounts of beneficiaries of social welfare schemes and to increase the disbursement of loans in various key sectors, including the agriculture sector.

At the meeting, Siddiqui sternly told bankers to shore up their performance in opening new branches and disbursing loans in agriculture and allied sectors, micro services, small enterprises. He was upset to find only 114 branches were opened in 2016-17 against the target of 1640 branches.

“ A large number of banks have not opened a single branch. This is not acceptable. Loan disbursements in key sectors is also not satisfactory,” he said, cautioning representatives of laggard banks not to attend the next SLBC meeting if they failed to gear up their act.

“But we are grateful to bankers for the services provided to people of the state despite odds after demonetisation,” he said.

RBI regional director N P Toppno also urged bankers to increase disbursements and not hide behind the alibi of demonetisation for low rate of credit disbursal. He said incidents on bank loot demoralised bankers. “But in Bihar the law and order situation is far better now even though some incidents have happened,” he said.

Toppno also pulled up bankers over reports that some banks were not accepting Rs 10 coins. He urged the finance minister to look into ways to mitigate the problem of non-performing assets (bad loans).

CJM, NABARD Ravi Avtaar Mishra and CJM, State Bank of India Ajit Sood.were among those who attended the meeting.