New Delhi, Oct 3 (KNN) Following the directions of Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, Banks will organize the first phase of 'Loan Mela', an outreach program for providing credit to retail customers and Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs), from today across 250 districts across the country to meet demand during the festival period.

In the month of September, Sitharaman asked the public sector banks to organise credit "Shamiana meetings" in 400 districts beginning October 3 to provide loans to NBFCs, MSMEs and retail borrowers, including homebuyers and farmers in order to boost liquidity in the economy.

PSBs will focus on giving loans to the 'RAM' category -- retail, agriculture and MSMEs. The idea behind this outreach program is to ensure maximum credit disbursal during the festive season.

According to media reports, Banks including State Bank of India (SBI), Punjab National Bank (PNB), Bank of Baroda (BoB), and Corporation Bank have geared themselves up to take advantage of festival season demand.

During the annual performance review earlier this month, public sector banks decided to undertake outreach exercise in identified 400 districts. Later, the private sector too expressed their willingness to join the initiative.

This is part of the systematic bank reform process which envisioned taking banks to doorsteps of customers.

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