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The people’s newsroom

PolicyNorth East

Banks lend just ₹47 of every ₹100 deposited in the North East, Scindia tells bankers

Opening the North East Bankers' Conclave in Aizawl, the DoNER minister called for state-wise credit targets and a credit-risk framework suited to community-owned land.

From the editorial desk · AizawlPublished
DoNER minister Jyotiraditya Scindia (file photo)
DoNER minister Jyotiraditya Scindia (file photo)Photo: World Economic Forum on Flickr / Eric Miller / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0

Key points

  1. Banks in the North East lend only ₹47 for every ₹100 of deposits.
  2. Jyotiraditya Scindia wants a region-specific credit-risk framework with flexible collateral rules.
  3. About 73% of targets set at the first conclave have been met, he said.

Banks in the North East lend only ₹47 for every ₹100 they collect in deposits, Union Minister for Development of North Eastern Region Jyotiraditya Scindia told bankers in Aizawl on Tuesday, urging them to put more of the region’s savings to work locally.

Opening the third North East Bankers’ Conclave at Mizoram University, Scindia said the credit-deposit ratio should reflect lending for development, with wider access to credit for entrepreneurs, farmers, women and small businesses. He called for a credit-risk framework designed for the North East, with more flexible collateral rules because much land in the region is owned by communities rather than individuals.

Mizoram Chief Minister Lalduhoma attended, along with DoNER Secretary Srinivas Katikithala and senior executives of State Bank of India, Punjab National Bank, Bank of Baroda, Canara Bank, India Post Payments Bank and other lenders, NABARD and SIDBI.

“We must take banking and credit to the remotest corners of the North East.”

Jyotiraditya Scindia, Union DoNER Minister, on X, 13 October 2026

Scindia said about 73% of the targets set at the first conclave had been met over five years. He said 131 new bank branches and 126 ATMs had been opened, and that the region now has 6,674 branches and 5,823 ATMs. Banking touchpoints reach about 99.93% of villages, and the minimum population for opening a physical branch has been cut from 3,000 to 2,000.

Between April and June, the DoNER Secretary held talks with each state, which then set their own credit targets. Scindia asked bankers to “turn financial inclusion into an economic opportunity”. He said this was his 35th visit to the North East in about 32 months as minister.

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