Priority Sector Lending by banks in India constitutes the lending to
- agriculture
- micro and small enterprises
- weaker sections
- All of the above
Explanation
Option (d) is correct
- Priority Sector means those sectors which the Government of India and Reserve Bank of India consider as important for the development of the basic needs of the country and are to be given priority over other sectors. The banks are mandated to encourage the growth of such sectors with adequate and timely credit. The categories of priority sector are as follows:
- Agriculture
- Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises
- Export Credit
- Education
- Housing
- Social Infrastructure
- Renewable Energy
- Others
- Priority sector loans to the following borrowers are considered as lending under Weaker Sections category:
- Small and Marginal Farmers
- Artisans, village and cottage industries where individual credit limits do not exceed Rs 1 lakh
- Beneficiaries under Government Sponsored Schemes such as National Rural Livelihoods Mission (NRLM), National Urban Livelihood Mission (NULM) and Self Employment Scheme for Rehabilitation of Manual Scavengers (SRMS)
- Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes
- Beneficiaries of Differential Rate of Interest (DRI) scheme
- Self Help Groups
- Distressed farmers indebted to non-institutional lenders
- Distressed persons other than farmers, with loan amount not exceeding Rs 1 lakh per borrower to prepay their debt to non-institutional lenders
- Individual women beneficiaries up to Rs 1 lakh per borrower
- Persons with disabilities
- Minority communities as may be notified by Government of India from time to time
