Mumbai, April 2: Concerned over rising incidents of farmer suicides, Prime Minister Narendra Modi Thursday nudged banks to be considerate in giving and recovering loans from poor saying banks would not shut by helping them.
“As RBI celebrates 80 years, can we think within ourselves that we will expand our banking sector so much that farmers would not have to commit suicide because of huge debt burden. Can we not dream of this?… I do not believe that by helping poor a bank will become insolvent,” he said.
The plight of farmers should “shake the conscience” of the banking sector, he said addressing the 80th anniversary celebrations of the RBI where Union finance minister Arun Jaitley, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan were also present.
“Our farmers commit suicide. The pain of this should not only be restricted to newspapers and TV screens. When farmer dies, does it shake the heart of banking sector? Because of taking loan from money lender, he has to face death,” Modi said.
He also asked the Reserve Bank to prepare a 20-year road map for financial inclusion and suggested that Indian currency should be printed using indigenous paper and ink.
Jaitley lauded the efforts of Reserve Bank in improving macroeconomic conditions in the last eight decades.
Appreciating the role played by RBI over the last 80 years, Modi complimented Rajan for his grasp and clarity on economic issues. PTI