Gandhinagar (Gujarat) [India], July 8 (ANI): Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel has urged the state's cooperative banks to expedite and simplify the process of providing loans and credit to rural self-help groups and Sakhi Mandal on Tuesday.

According to an official release, CM Patel made this appeal while presiding over a review meeting in Gandhinagar, addressing chairpersons of cooperative banks, senior officials from the Gujarat Livelihood Promotion Company, as well as representatives from the Women and Child Development and Rural Development departments.

Minister of Rural Development Raghavji Patel, Minister of State for Cooperation Jagdish Vishwakarma, and Minister of State for Rural Development Kunvarji Halpati also attended this meeting.

The Chief Minister stated that the resolve of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to empower women of Sakhi Mandal to become Aatmanirbhar can be realised through the provision of increased loans and credit support to such groups.

He emphasised that self-help groups are small collectives engaged in various businesses and occupations, and the more financial support cooperative banks extend to them, the more effectively these groups can operate.

In the state, there are presently a total of 2.84 lakh rural self-help groups, comprising 1.76 lakh associated with agricultural activities, 16,608 engaged in production and trade, and 6,973 linked to other livelihood activities.

Under the National Rural Livelihood Mission (NRLM), provisions have been made by the Central and State Governments to provide loans of up to Rs 20 lakh to these self-help groups. Gujarat Livelihood Promotion Company, under the aegis of the State Government, assists rural self-help groups in availing such loans and credit facilities, the release stated.

During the presentation at the review meeting, it was informed that under the target set by the Central Government for the year 2025-26, loans amounting to Rs 1,240 crore are to be provided to 88,200 self-help groups, of which more than 13,000 self-help groups have already been sanctioned credit.

Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel, expressing his concern to ensure that rural self-help groups receive loans and credit facilities promptly and with ease, directed cooperative banks to organise district-level camps for this purpose. He further stressed that the process, from quick scrutiny of applications to credit disbursal, be fast-tracked under state department guidance.

He also urged banks to take a supportive stance so that no deserving application is rejected. A brief discussion on the proposed action plan was also held during the meeting.

The Chief Minister urged the chairpersons, managing directors, and officials of cooperative banks to organise cluster-level workshops and camps to educate women on securing loans and to provide appropriate training. He stated that women in Sakhi Mandal become pillars of support for their families through economic activities. (ANI)