Union Minister of State for Finance Dr. Bhagwat Karad on Monday asked bankers to focus on Banking the unbanked, Securing the unsecured and funding the unfunded.

He was speaking at a review meeting on Financial Inclusion Parameters of Western Maharashtra in Satara.

The Minister further said that PM Svanidhi scheme gives small loans to needy people without the condition of a collateral or a CIBIL score.

The Minister asked on this occasion to increase banking penetration in rural areas. He directed banks to reduce the waiting period for loan disbursement.

The Minister added that even a developed state like Maharashtra has scope for increasing the number of bank branches in rural areas.

Banks need to work towards that goal, the Minister said.

In our target towards becoming five trillion economy, banking sector is a big pillar said the Minister. 

Karad further added that new voters should be incorporated into the banking sector by opening their bank accounts, and special camps should be arranged for the same.

He suggested imbibing a competitive spirit among the banking sector for development of all.

The Minister on this occasion appreciated the all round performance achieved by Kolhapur District on Financial inclusion parameters.

He further added that with respect to schemes like Svanidhi, Maharashtra has performed better than national average.

However, there is scope for performance improvement in the MUDRA Scheme, where Maharashtra is lagging behind the national average.

On this occasion the, Minister also took a performance review of NABARD in Western Maharashtra region.

Member of Parliament, Jaisiddeshwar Shivacharya Mahaswamiji, Member of Parliament Shriniwas Patil, MLA Jaykumar Gore and representatives of various banks were present on this occasion.