Aiming to serve the farmers with better and efficient banking facilities, the Punjab government has directed all the State cooperative banks to augment enough usage of IT and financial advancements in banking services and improve their fiscal managements.Addressing a seminar on 'competitive dynamism and revitalization of cooperative banks' here today Mr VK Singh Financial Commissioner Cooperation Punjab said cooperative bank managers and administrators have to devise new parameters, competent work culture and financial ethics to compete with private sector. Giving a clarion call to make cooperative banks financially more viable and sustainable he forewarned the bankers that performance of managers and employees with dismal business operations and NPAs would be reflected in their annual confidential reports and non-performers have to face the music.He directed the banks management to make sincere and meticulous efforts to achieve all the normative parameters including maintenance of Capital to Risk Assets Ratio (CRAR) as stipulated by the RBI and NABARD in order to maintain regular flow of credit and other financial services to the valuable farmers. VK Singh also stressed upon the need for restructuring the Punjab State Cooperative Bank and District Central Cooperative Banks and remodelling its business model so as to revitalize the banks.
Speaking on the occasion, Chairman Punjab State Farmers Commission Mr. Ajay Vir Jakhar stressed upon increasing the contribution of cooperative banks to the welfare of farmers in particular and rural public in general. Advocating the merger of all state cooperative banks he assured that Farmers Commission would endeavour for the improvement and progress of state farmers with all help to the banking and farming sector.Registrar cooperative societies Punjab Mr. Rajat Agarwal stated that the cooperative banks and primary cooperative agricultural societies have an important role to play in upliftment of the farm sector as well as rural economy of the State which helps the delivery of credit to tale end. He further stressed that in the changing scenario it is imperative to strengthen and modernise the cooperative system to serve the people better.Presenting an analytical study of cooperative bank’s financial parameters chief general manager NABARD Mr. Deepak Kumar suggested that in the present scenario pooling of resources by the cooperative banks is a need of the day and a roadmap should be prepared for merger, amalgamation or consolidation of banks into one entity.Addressing this seminar the experts including professor R.S. Gumman and Dr. S.S. Sangwan of CRRID Chandigarh and professor A.K. Vashisht of university business school Chandigarh observed that cooperative credit structure is facing a serious challenge to its existence in given scenario. They suggested that a change in cooperative credit structure is the need of the hour to face the challenges of economical, technological, environmental and constitutional transformation in the banking sector. On the occasion managing director Punjab state cooperative bank Dr. S.K. Batish presented a detailed presentation enlisting various issues faced by the cooperative banks.