Minister Ashok Singhal informed on Friday that altogether Rs 12,500 crore of microfinance loans, comprising both principal and interest, are outstanding in Assam till March 31st.
Singhal said at a press conference that from 40 lenders around twenty-six lakh customers with 45 lakh bank accounts have taken loans.
Singhal also stated that 53 percent of pending Rs 12,500 crore was lent by banks, 22 percent by Non-Banking Finance Companies (NBFCs) and microfinance institutions, 26 percent by small finance banks, and 16 percent by regular NBFCs.
Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has planned to set up the panel in his first cabinet meeting on may 11 with Singhal as the chairman and principal secretaries of the finance and panchayat and rural development departments as members.
Singhal said, “The chief minister had directed us to prepare a package to provide relief to maximum poor women who had taken loans and are facing immense miseries”.
The irrigation and urban development minister is heading the committee formed for fulfilling the BJP’s election promise for waiving microfinance loans.