Patna: Reserve Bank of India Governor Dr Y V Reddy today praised Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar for fiscal management and assured all help for improving credit deposit ratio (CDR) and other banking facilities in the state.

In a meeting here, Reddy discussed with Kumar the areas of concerns like low CDR, low branch coverage, inadequate coverage under educational loan, poor performance of commercial banks for credit disbursement to flood-affected families and lack of interest for rehabilitation of sick and closed industries.

Agreeing with the concerns shown by the state government, Reddy assured it that we will solve these problems by working in close coodrination. Presenting reports about the improved state of finances of the state government, principal secretary of the state finance department Navin Kumar emphasised that the bank should be directed to provide linkage with the integrated financial management information system being implemented in the state by networking the treasuries and accountant general's office.

The chief minister said it was decided to have institutional arrangements in terms of joint working groups comprising representatives of the state, RBI and commercial banks for specific issues like educational loan, credit to flood affected families, increasing branches coverage.

These groups will attend to the related micro level issues, Nitish Kumar said. The RBI governor said the deputy governor of the apex bank would be asked to visit the state after sometime to review the progress addressing the state's concerns.

Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Modi and top state government officials attended the meeting.

Source : PTI