Aurangabad, Sept 16:
There is a misconception that banks avoid financing government projects. But it is incorrect. We need bankable projects so that the funds issued by the nationalised banks are put to good use, said Devendra Fadnavis, leader of opposition in Maharashtra legislative assembly. He was speaking at the conclusion ceremony of the national bank conference on Thursday.
Speaking further he said that the conference has highlighted the city's potential. The bankers are now aware of the city's industrial growth, DMIC and Samruddhi Expressway. It will help industries to get financial support for their projects. Marathwada accounts to 23 per cent of the country's population. But there is only 4 to 5 per cent of banking penetration. Thus banks need to strengthen their network, specially in rural areas. Maharashtra has tremendous potential and has 49 per cent of the large projects in the country. The Centre distributed Rs 3 lakh crore under the Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme in Maharashtra. Banking schemes rolled out by the centre and connecting Aadhaar to mobile have helped in stopping pilferage and disbursing government benefits to genuine beneficiaries and has saved Rs 16,000 crore of the central government. The non performing assets under the Mudra scheme are 22 per cent, however the number of regularly repaying loans is high. The state also needs a freight and passenger corridor connecting Aurangabad to Nagpur for overall industrial growth, he said.