Patna: The 98th meeting of the State Level Bankers’ Committee (SLBC), Bihar, was held in Patna on Tuesday, reviewing credit flow, financial progress and the implementation of government-sponsored schemes across the state.
The meeting was chaired by Deputy Chief Minister-cum-Finance Minister Bijendra Prasad Yadav. Rural Development and Information & Public Relations Minister Shravan Kumar and Agriculture Minister Vijay Kumar Sinha also attended.
Senior government officials, including the Development Commissioner and senior officials from the Finance, Agriculture, Cooperative, Dairy, Fisheries & Animal Resources departments, were present. The Chief Executive Officer of Jeevika also attended the meeting.
Annual Credit Plan And Priority Sectors
The committee adopted the minutes of the joint 96th and 97th quarterly SLBC meetings and reviewed progress on action points identified during the earlier meetings.
The meeting assessed achievements under the Annual Credit Plan for the first quarter of the financial year 2026-27. Lending to priority sectors and the implementation of schemes such as the Prime Minister’s Employment Generation Programme (PMEGP), PM Formalisation of Micro Food Processing Enterprises (PMFME), Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana, PM-SVANidhi, PM Vishwakarma and PM Surya Ghar Muft Bijli Yojana were also reviewed.
Officials discussed financing for agriculture and micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), with particular attention to Kisan Credit Card (KCC) crop loans, Digital KCC and the Agriculture Infrastructure Fund.
Focus On Farmers, Fisheries And Women’s SHGs
The committee reviewed KCC lending for animal husbandry and fisheries, along with measures to expand access to formal credit for these sectors.
Progress in bank linkages and individual financing for women associated with Jeevika-affiliated Self-Help Groups was also discussed, with emphasis on expanding access to institutional finance.
NPA Recovery And Banking Expansion
The meeting reviewed the speedy disposal of cases and recovery of dues related to Non-Performing Assets (NPAs), certificate cases and proceedings under the SARFAESI Act.
Officials also assessed the Credit-Deposit (CD) Ratio across districts and discussed measures to improve the capacity of districts to absorb credit.
Plans for opening new banking outlets in Unbanked Revenue Centres (URCs) were considered. The committee also discussed increasing the participation of women as Business Correspondents (BCs) and addressing operational issues faced by BCs.
Push For Digital Financial Inclusion
The committee reviewed measures to expand digital payment infrastructure, including the deployment of Point of Sale (PoS) machines and improvements in connectivity.
Financial literacy initiatives through Financial Literacy Centres (FLCs) and Community Financial Literacy Centres (CFLs) were also discussed. The meeting reviewed efforts to strengthen financial education through school curricula.
The progress of the Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana, including re-KYC measures, was reviewed alongside the Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana (PMJJBY), Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana (PMSBY) and Atal Pension Yojana.
The meeting also covered financial inclusion of transgender individuals, credit guarantees for startups and the settlement of unclaimed assets.
Banking Complaints And CSR
Officials were instructed to ensure timely resolution of banking complaints received through the Chief Minister’s Secretariat’s e-Compliance Dashboard, the Sahyog Portal (RTMS) and the CP GRAMS Portal.
The committee also discussed the registration of nodal officers and the uploading of activities on the Bihar State CSR Portal.
Skill Development And Disaster-Related Loan Restructuring
The meeting also reviewed skill development initiatives through Rural Self Employment Training Institutes (RSETIs) and the National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC).
Trade and export promotion were discussed, along with measures for restructuring loans in the event of natural disasters.
The meeting covered a range of banking and financial inclusion measures, focusing on improving credit delivery, expanding access to banking services and ensuring timely implementation of government-sponsored schemes across Bihar.
