New Delhi, Mar 29 (KNN) The Reserve Bank of India's (RBI) latest data on sectoral deployment of bank credit, released on Thursday, has revealed that accelerated borrowing by key sectors like infrastructure and textiles propelled the growth in credit to the industry at 8.6 per cent year-on-year in February 2024.

According to the RBI's data, which was collected from 41 commercial banks accounting for about 95 per cent of the total non-food credit deployed by all lenders, credit to the industry grew by 8.6 per cent in February 2024, as compared to 6.8 per cent in the same month last year.

Among the major industries, the annual growth in credit offtake witnessed a notable acceleration in sectors such as food processing, infrastructure, and textiles in February, as compared to the corresponding month of the previous year.

The data also highlighted that credit growth to agriculture and allied activities remained robust at 20.1 per cent in February, up from 15 per cent in the year-ago month, reflecting the continued emphasis on lending to the agricultural sector.

While the growth in personal loans moderated to 18.1 per cent in February from 20.6 per cent a year ago, primarily due to decelerated growth in vehicle loans and other personal loans, credit to the services sector witnessed a healthy growth of 21.2 per cent, as compared to 20.5 per cent in February 2023.

The RBI's sectoral deployment data underscores the pivotal role played by key industries like infrastructure and textiles in driving the overall credit growth to the industry, indicating a revival in borrowing demand from these sectors.

(KNN Bureau)