Minorities to get priority for Bank loans

(Tues.22May, 2007):-The Reserve Bank of India – RBI, in a step that would provide some economic benefits to the minority communities, has decided to give priority to minorities in procuring bank loans. The union government has been persistently insisting that a proportionate amount of government revenue should be utilised for the benefit of minorities. Consequently, the RBI has gone ahead and included 'minority communities’ in the list of weaker sections. Earlier, the list of weaker sections comprised of scheduled castes, scheduled tribes, small and marginal farmers, artisans and the urban poor. Domestic banks, both government-owned and private, are now required to give 10% of the total loans or 25% of the total priority-sector loans to 'weaker sections'. Priority sectors include agriculture, housing and small-scale industries. The move perhaps aims at giving a boost to these sectors especially agriculture which has witnessed harsh times in recent years with increasing agricultural debts, dependence on moneylenders and farmer suicides. However, what is to be borne in mind is - that who constitutes a minority would be determined Statewise and not nationally, which means Christians in Mizoram, Sikkim and Nagaland would not be entitled to these benefits as they are not a minority in these states. This clause seems to be in line with the recent decision of the Central Government to establish a procedure for defining minorities Statewise inorder to get rid of all the controversies and confusion surrounding the use of this term.