Porayar (TN): India occupied first place in the world in providing education loans, benefitting 10 lakh students till September this year, Union Finance Minister P Chidambaram has said.

The banks in India have sanctioned a total of Rs 14,500 crore as educational loans, he said while inaugurating the 2878th branch of the Bank of India (BOI) at the temple town of Tirunallar in Karaikal enclave of Puducherry yesterday.

The Government has planned to further provide education assistance to the tune of Rs 1,500 crore to 15 lakh students belonging to minority communites over a period of five years, he said.

Stating that providing credits for various sections of the society was the duty of banks, he said that farm credits was growing at a satisfactory pace and was likely to touch Rs 2,35,000 crore this fiscal.

From an estimated target of Rs 2,25,000 crore, the farm credit is likely to rise by Rs 10,000 crore in 2007-2008, Chidambaram said the Government was according top priority to agriculture and it would continue in future too.

Listing out the various measures taken by the Government for the welfare of farmers, Chidabmaram said that the interest rate for farm credit had been lowered to seven per cent.

Source : PTI