New Delhi, Jan 17 (KNN) A credit potential of Rs 1936.37 crore for Meghalaya has been estimated by the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) under priority sector during 2019-20.

The projected amount was disclosed by NABARD during the launch of the State Focus Paper (SPF), a credit planning exercise undertaken by the bank in close coordination with multiple stakeholders like the state government, banks, NGOs and farmer groups.

The SPF has estimated Rs 595.10 crore for crop loans, Rs 387.93 crore for term loans in agriculture, Rs 714.93 crore for the MSME sector and Rs 238.41 crore for other priority sectors like rural housing and education loans, NABARD state-in-charge Y K Rao said.

He added that the amount holds significance for Meghalaya, which has been a largely credit-deficient state with consistently low credit-deposit ratios in the range of 30-32%.

Chief Secretary of Meghalaya, Y Tsering exhorted the banking sector to rise up to the challenges and ensure that individual comprehensive plans are drawn to achieve targets in a time-bound manner.

He also stressed upon the fact that the credit-fuelled growth narrative has "bypassed" large chunks of farming communities in the state and that remedial action is the call of the hour.