RBI deputy governor K.C. Chakrabarty inaugurate the RBI office in Shillong on Friday. Picture by UB Photos

Shillong, Aug. 24: The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) today stressed financial inclusion in the Northeast to improve the gloomy credit-deposit ratio of the region.

Addressing a gathering after inaugurating the office here, RBI deputy governor K.C. Chakrabarty said stability across the globe would be achieved if inclusion were encouraged.

“There can be no inclusive growth without financial inclusion. We want to link everybody with banks. In order to achieve this objective, we need the support of the community and the state governments,” Chakrabarty said.

Stating that Meghalaya’s credit-deposit ratio stood at 36 per cent, Chakrabarty said entrepreneurship activities should be encouraged, as the area does not lack in resources. “This area does not lack in resources, but people should be given the technical knowhow to develop entrepreneurship activities,” he said.

He also said the RBI would supervise the financial inclusion process and would address policy shortcoming.

“We will facilitate the process of inclusion to ensure that there would be no lack of effort at the lower level,” Chakrabarty added.

The RBI had also earlier stressed on enhancing financial inclusion through modern electronic payment system for stakeholders of the Northeast.

Various stakeholders like the state governments and the Union government departments and the banks in the region have been asked to lend focussed attention to achieve financial inclusion with modern electronic payments as a key driver in the process.

Meghalaya chief secretary W.M.S. Pariat said the low credit-deposit ratio in the state was a matter of concern, and a study is currently under way to assess ways and means to enhance the ratio.

He said the state government had launched the women economic empowerment through financial inclusion schemes targeting four lakh households in the next five years. “Around 50,000 potential small-scale entrepreneurs are being identified at present and will be provided financial assistance to the tune of Rs 50,000 each, which would be used as collateral for availing higher bank loan,” he said.

The scheme envisages the assistance of individuals and self-help groups for taking up entrepreneurship activities to raise their level of income.

Pariat said as of today, the state has 291 bank branches with 156 in the rural areas, 53 in semi-urban and 82 in urban areas.

The RBI office in Shillong is the third in the Northeast after Guwahati and Agartala.

It is in Apphira Building, Fruit Garden, along the Shillong-Jowai Road, and will function under the charge of general manager P. Shyam Sunder. The office is expected to focus initially on the development of banking services in the state, and gradually take up other central banking functions.

The RBI is also in the process of floating a global tender for printing plastic currency notes, which would be put in circulation on an experimental basis. “We are in the process of floating a global tender and preparatory work is going on. It has been decided that on an experimental basis, we will float the plastic currency notes for Rs 10 denomination. For that there are certain formalities and processes involved. Once that part is over, tender has to be awarded, currency notes will be produced, and circulated on an experimental basis,” Chakrabarty told reporters.