Banks should target lending of Rs 6.12 lakh cr for FY26 and Rs 7 lakh cr for FY27 to MSMEs: FM Sitharaman

Banks should target lending of Rs 6.12 lakh cr for FY26 and Rs 7 lakh cr for FY27 to MSMEs: FM Sitharaman

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on November 18 said banks should target lending of Rs 6.12 lakh crore for FY26 and Rs 7 lakh crore for FY27 to MSMEs.

She said this will delivering the keynote address at the 11th SBI Banking & Economics Conclave 2024 on the theme 'Making Aspiration of Viksit Bharat a Reality' in Mumbai.

"In 2013-14, we saw India as being the 10th largest economy. Post that, we grew rapidly and by 2021-22 we reached the 5th position. Hopefully, in the next few years we will be reaching the 3rd position. And banks, of course, play a very crucial role in helping the country move forward and not to the usual pace," said Sitharaman.

She said the country needs to have the digital financial inclusion as one of the very important goals so that cost effective digital means can reach everybody.

"We need to continue to innovate, ensure that every Indian, no matter which part of the country he remains, however remote the location, becomes a part of the financial inclusion programs. The RBI has highlighted differences in digital adoption, cyber security efforts, and also mobile banking application ratings across various groups," said Sitharaman.

She said there needs to be an approach with which banks have to access MSMEs.

"A few days back, I set a target of an additional MSME lending of 1.54 lakh crore in this financial year for the Scheduled Commercial Banks and NBFCs, beyond the estimated Rs 4.21 lakh crore to be lent this year with just business-as-usual approach. So, this increase will be sustained in the next two years as well. Banks should target lending, as I said, Rs 1.54 lakh crore more this year than the usual business-as-usual limit of Rs 4.21 lakh crore. But banks next year, for 2025-2026, should target lending of Rs 6.12 lakh crore and Rs 7 lakh crore for 2026-2027 for the MSMEs," said Sitharaman.