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Bankers' committees told to report SC beneficiaries' share in credit schemes

By CAShorts DeskPublished Updated Source: The Hindu

Bankers' committees told to report SC beneficiaries' share in credit schemes
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The Finance Ministry's Department of Financial Services has directed State and UT-level Bankers' Committees to report, scheme-wise and bank-wise, the share of Scheduled Caste beneficiaries in schemes such as Mudra, Stand-Up India and PMEGP. The October 5 letter follows the National Commission for Scheduled Castes flagging the missing data. Action-taken reports are due by October 9.

Syllabus: GS3 · Inclusive Growth; GS2 · Constitutional Bodies; GS2 · Welfare of Vulnerable Sections

Why it matters

Loan and job schemes for small businesses are meant to reach every community, including Scheduled Caste families. But if banks report only totals, nobody can tell whether SC borrowers are getting a fair share. The Commission compares each scheme's SC share with the community's share of the population; without the numbers it cannot judge which banks are falling behind. Asking for figures scheme by scheme and bank by bank turns a broad promise of inclusion into something that can be checked and corrected. The larger lesson is simple: a welfare scheme is only as accountable as the data kept about who it reaches.

Prelims pointers

  • NCSC is a constitutional body under Article 338; the 89th Amendment Act, 2003 split the earlier joint commission, creating a separate NCST under Article 338A.
  • Under Article 338, the NCSC investigates and monitors safeguards for SCs, advises on their socio-economic development and reports to the President.
  • SLBCs are the state-level forums of the RBI's Lead Bank Scheme, each convened by a designated bank; the DFS is part of the Union Ministry of Finance.
  • Stand-Up India supports bank loans to at least one SC or ST borrower and at least one woman borrower per bank branch for greenfield enterprises.
  • PM Mudra Yojana offers collateral-free loans to non-corporate, non-farm micro and small enterprises; PMEGP is a credit-linked subsidy programme for new micro-enterprises.
  • PM SVANidhi is the scheme for street vendors.
  • CGTMSE stands for the Credit Guarantee Fund Trust for Micro and Small Enterprises; it guarantees collateral-free bank loans to such enterprises.

Practise a UPSC-style question

Consider the following statements about the National Commission for Scheduled Castes (NCSC):

1. It is a constitutional body whose provisions are contained in Article 338 of the Constitution.

2. The 89th Constitutional Amendment Act, 2003 set up a separate commission for Scheduled Tribes under Article 338A.

3. It presents its reports to the Prime Minister, who causes them to be laid before each House of Parliament.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

  1. (a) 1 and 2 only
  2. (b) 2 and 3 only
  3. (c) 1 and 3 only
  4. (d) 1, 2 and 3
Show the answer

Answer: (a) 1 and 2 only

1 is correct: Article 338 provides for the NCSC, which makes it a constitutional body. 2 is correct: the 89th Amendment Act, 2003 split the earlier joint commission for SCs and STs and created the National Commission for Scheduled Tribes under Article 338A. 3 is incorrect: the NCSC presents its reports to the President, who causes them to be laid before each House of Parliament with a memorandum on the action taken.

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