RBI reviews PSL guidelines to align it with emerging national priorities for inclusive development

The Reserve Bank of India has comprehensively reviewed the Priority Sector Lending (PSL) guidelines to align it with emerging national priorities and bring a sharper focus on inclusive development, after having wide-ranging discussions with all stakeholders.

The revised PSL guidelines will enable better credit penetration to credit deficient areas; increase the lending to small and marginal farmers and weaker sections; boost credit to renewable energy and health infrastructure, bank finance to start-ups (up to 50 crore rupees); loans to farmers for installation of solar power plants for solarisation of grid-connected agriculture pumps and loans for setting up Compressed Bio-Gas (CBG) plants have been included as fresh categories eligible for finance under priority sector.

The Reserve Bank today in a tweet said, "RBI Releases Revised Priority Sector Lending Guidelines".

Some of the salient features of revised these guidelines are, to address regional disparities in the flow of priority sector credit, higher weightage has been assigned to incremental priority sector credit in 'identified districts' where priority sector credit flow is comparatively low.

The targets prescribed for small and marginal farmers and weaker sections are being increased in a phased manner. Higher credit limit has been specified for Farmers Producers Organizations (FPOs)/Farmers Producers Companies (FPCs), undertaking farming with assured marketing of their produce at a pre-determined price.

Loan limits for renewable energy have been increased (doubled) and improvement of health infrastructure, the credit limit for health infrastructure (including those under 'Ayushman Bharat') has been doubled.