Thread by @BiIndia

#EXCLUSIVE: Bankers may be working all 31 days of March with the government looking to double the loans doled out under the #PMSVANidhi scheme

businessinsider.in/finance/banks/…

By @pabsgill

@pabsgill Public sector banks are always anxious in March as the financial year draws to a close. It's not uncommon for the management to ask employees to pull a few extra hours at work. However, this year, some public sector bank employees may be working all 31 days of the month.

@pabsgill On the one hand, the Indian government has issued an order asking banks to double the disbursements given out under the #PMSVANidhi scheme. And, on the other, the banks have their own internal targets to meet when it comes to agricultural loans, #MSME credit and other aspects.

@pabsgill Orders from the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MOHUA) have asked these banks to step on the gas and work two extra Saturdays before the end of March.

@pabsgill According to official documents reviewed by Business Insider, the Indian government has set itself a goal to dole out 3 million loans under the #PMSVANidhi Scheme.

@pabsgill The programme was introduced in June 2020 by Finance Minister #NirmalaSitharaman to provide street vendors with collateral-free loans of up to ₹10,000 at low rates of interest for a period of one year.

@pabsgill However, only 1.5 million loans have been doled out so far — which is only half of the target. To meet the deficit, the MOHUA has instructed all banks to organise camps on February 27, March 6 and March 13 — two of which are non-working Saturdays for bankers.

@pabsgill Some banks — like the #StateBankofIndia (SBI), #CanaraBank, and #UCOBank — have taken it a step further and made all Saturdays working, including March 27.

@pabsgill In some regions, like #Punjab and #Assam, bankers from #Canara and #SBI have been asked to come in on all Sundays and holidays of March as well due to impetus on agricultural loans, which also includes #Holi and #MahaShivratri.

@pabsgill The move to call off holidays and weekends comes at a time when public sector bank unions are planning a two-day strike to protest the government's privatisation initiatives in March.