Bihar presses lenders over 38.25% credit-plan progress

Bihar set a 4.95 trillion-rupee Annual Credit Plan for 2026-27 and told banks to lift priority lending at a Friday review meeting, Prokerala reported Oct. 24.

The news report said banks had disbursed 1.89343 trillion rupees by the end of the September quarter. That was 38.25% of the annual goal and 462.28 billion rupees more than in the corresponding 2025-26 period.

The directives came at the third review meeting of a high-level committee at the Old Secretariat, chaired by Development Commissioner Mihir Kumar Singh, according to the report. The meeting reviewed bank performance, the Annual Credit Plan, welfare-scheme lending and the credit-deposit ratio, the share of deposits lent out as credit.

Singh introduced a 100-point measurement index for banks operating in Bihar. The state government said the framework would score and rank banks against specified parameters, and added four more welfare schemes to its credit-monitoring mechanism.

Lending to micro, small and medium enterprises, or MSMEs, reached 840.91 billion rupees against a 1.59632 trillion-rupee target by the September quarter, or 52.68%. Agriculture lending was 439.6717 billion rupees against a 1.57015 trillion-rupee target, or 28%.

Overall priority-sector lending stood at 1.30619 trillion rupees against a 3.55532 trillion-rupee goal, or 36.74%. Bihar's credit-deposit ratio was 60.17% on Sept. 30, compared with 60.21% at the end of the 2025-26 financial year.

Total deposits in the state reached 6.49225 trillion rupees, while outstanding credit was 3.90655 trillion rupees. Deposits rose by 337.97 billion rupees from the previous year, and credit increased by 200.92 billion rupees, according to figures presented at the meeting.

The state also reviewed loans under welfare schemes including Kisan Credit Card, PM Surya Ghar Muft Bijli Yojana, PM SVANidhi and PM Vishwakarma. Kisan Credit Card lending reached 83.447 billion rupees through 737,906 accounts, including 712,383 renewals.

Under the PM Surya Ghar Muft Bijli Yojana, 13,911 applications were approved, enabling 2.8451 billion rupees in disbursements. The report said more than 28,625 artisans were brought into the formal financial system under PM Vishwakarma.

The new index placed IDFC First Bank at the top of the green zone with 74 points. Jammu and Kashmir Bank and RBL Bank each scored 68, while HDFC Bank scored 65 and Bank of Baroda scored 64.

Banks scoring below 40 points were classified in the red zone. The report listed Indian Overseas Bank and Central Bank of India at 37 points, UCO Bank at 35, State Bank of India at 32, Canara Bank at 27, and IDBI Bank, Bandhan Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank and State Co-operative Bank at 26.

The report said Singh expressed concern about banks below the state average of 38.25% and those in the red zone. He said a credit-deposit ratio below 50% was unacceptable for major banks holding a substantial share of Bihar's deposits.

The Prokerala report did not include responses from the banks or the full scoring formula for the 100-point index. It also did not report any penalties tied to the rankings.

Source: news report, Prokerala, Oct. 24