Foreign banks should not be exempt from corporate social responsibility. They have been consistently neglecting the agricultural sector by not setting targets for agricultural advances. The RBI should stipulate a licensing condition that they should also maintain a prescribed percentage of agricultural advances in their loan portfolio at interest rates on par with those of public sector banks (PSBs).

The government could consider granting tax concessions to such banks for meeting targets prescribed. This will distribute the burden of the growing non-performing assets in PSBs, and also help farmers get better access to farm credit.

S. Sairam

Chennai

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