RBI Releases Revised Priority Sector Lending Guidelines
Reserve Bank of India has comprehensively reviewed the Priority Sector Lending (PSL) Guidelines to align it with emerging national priorities and bring sharper focus on inclusive development, after having wide ranging discussions with all stakeholders.
Reserve Bank of India (Priority Sector Lending – Targets and Classification) Directions, 2020
The provisions of these RBI Guidelines shall apply to every Commercial Bank [including Regional Rural Bank (RRB), Small Finance Bank (SFB), Local Area Bank] and Primary (Urban) Co-operative Bank (UCB) other than Salary Earners’ Bank licensedto operate in India by the Reserve Bank of India
Revised PSL guidelines will enable better credit penetration to credit deficient areas; increase the lending to small and marginal farmers and weaker sections; boost credit to renewable energy, and health infrastructure.
Bank finance to start-ups (up to ₹50 crore); loans to farmers for installation of solar power plants for solarisation of grid connected agriculture pumps and loans for setting up Compressed Bio Gas (CBG) plants have been included as fresh categories eligible for finance under priority sector.
Salient features of revised RBI guidelines are:
1. To address regional disparities in the flow of priority sector credit, higher weightage have been assigned to incremental priority sector credit in ‘identified districts’ where priority sector credit flow is comparatively low.
2. The targets prescribed for “small and marginal farmers” and “weaker sections” are being increased in a phased manner.
3. Higher credit limit has been specified for Farmers Producers Organisations (FPOs)/Farmers Producers Companies (FPCs) undertaking farming with assured marketing of their produce at a pre-determined price.
4. Loan limits for renewable energy have been increased (doubled).
5. For improvement of health infrastructure, credit limit for health infrastructure (including those under ‘Ayushman Bharat’) has been doubled.
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