Of the 9,479 identified villages in the Northeast, 6,905 (around 73 per cent) are now connected to a bank branch or India Post Payments Bank (IPPB), while 2,574 remain to be covered, Union Minister of State for Development of North Eastern Region and Education, Dr Sukanta Majumdar, said. He called for accelerating banking expansion, improving access to credit and strengthening coordination between banks and State Governments to ensure that the benefits of financial services reach all parts of the Northeast.
Addressing the North East Bankers’ Conclave 3.0 at Mizoram University in Aizawl on October 13, Majumdar added that 131 new bank branches have been opened and 126 ATMs installed across the region to expand financial inclusion.
The conclave brought together stakeholders to discuss ways to improve banking access, strengthen credit delivery and address challenges affecting financial inclusion in the region.
Focus on Credit Flow and Investment
Of the 2,574 villages yet to be covered, 2,515 are to be connected through India Post Payments Bank, while the remaining 59 are to be served through physical bank branches.
Majumdar emphasised the need to improve the flow of credit to support economic activity and entrepreneurship in the Northeast. Referring to the Credit-Deposit (CD) ratio, he noted that the national average stood at 79.5 per cent, with Manipur and Assam at or above this level, while Mizoram and several other Northeastern States continued to lag behind.
He called for bank-specific lending targets and regular reviews through State Level Bankers’ Committees (SLBCs) to improve credit delivery. He also stressed the importance of maintaining reliable land records and ensuring complete Aadhaar seeding of eligible Current Account and Savings Account (CASA) accounts.
The Minister urged banks to expand participation in the PM SVANidhi scheme and examine viable loan proposals from farmers, micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), women entrepreneurs and tourism enterprises. Improved access to institutional credit, he said, would help strengthen local economic activity and create more opportunities for livelihoods and enterprise development.
Address Infrastructure Gaps to Expand Banking Access
Highlighting infrastructure-related challenges, Majumdar stressed the need to address gaps involving suitable buildings, all-weather road connectivity and reliable telecommunications infrastructure, including VSAT and fibre connectivity.
He called upon Chief Secretaries of the Northeastern States to assign clear responsibilities and timelines for every pending location. Banks were urged to operationalise locations where the necessary infrastructure was already available and expedite the opening of branches in underserved areas.
Where establishing full-fledged branches was not feasible, he called for wider deployment of Business Correspondents and BC-Sakhis to improve access to basic banking services, particularly in remote and underserved villages.
The Minister underscored the importance of coordinated efforts by banks and State Governments to ensure that the remaining uncovered villages are connected to banking services and that financial inclusion translates into greater access to credit and economic opportunities across the Northeast.
The Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region said the conclave focused on accelerating banking outreach, strengthening credit delivery and improving coordination among stakeholders to support inclusive development in the region.
-PIB Inputs
