Finance Minister P. Chidambaram has announced rescheduling of farm loans in drought affected states. Briefing the media after meeting the Chief Executives of Public Sector Banks and Financial institutions in New Delhi, he said credit will be provided to farmers for fodder and to maintain their cattle. He said assistance will also be given to them to raise alternate crops.

The Minister said 11.5 crore Kissan debit cards are being replaced by Debit – cum – ATM cards. The banks have been advised to double the number of 63,000 ATM's in the country and also convert them into cash accepting machines as well.

The Finance Minister asked the banks to cut interest rates, aggressively expand their operations and extend credit to vital sectors to revive economic growth. Mr. Chidambaram urged the banks to lower the EMIs on loans to encourage sale of consumer durables to step up growth in the manufacturing sector.

He asked the Industrial houses to work on implementaion of their projects to accelerate economic growth. He said procedures will be revised for easy sanction of education loans to students. Strict action will be taken against Branch managers, who deny loans to eligible students.

Pointing out that 11 lakh crore rupees lie as cash in the hands of the people, the Minister asked the Banks to mobilise savings. He said, ideal banking would be to have them in the banks.

He said, non performing assests of the banks have remained marginal in 2012 march, reflecting the slow down of the economy. But, he said, its level is not alarming and will improve as the economy picks up.