Latest news with #M.Nagaraju
Time of India
16-07-2025
- Business
- Time of India
RBI reviews ULI rollout with lenders amid slow adoption
Mumbai: The Reserve Bank of India ( RBI ) leadership on Wednesday met officials of banks and non-banking finance companies to discuss the way to boost lending under the Unified Lending Interface (ULI), which is positioned as the UPI for loans. M. Nagaraju, secretary, department of financial services, and RBI deputy governor, T. Rabi Sankar, were present at the meeting. The two officials had also met last month in New Delhi to discuss scaling up ULI, which is a digital public infrastructure in the lending space and aims to unlock critical financial, non-financial and alternative data for lenders to enable informed credit decisions. Explore courses from Top Institutes in Select a Course Category Others Project Management MBA Leadership Technology PGDM Data Science Finance Operations Management Digital Marketing Artificial Intelligence Healthcare Design Thinking Data Analytics healthcare CXO Public Policy Data Science Degree Cybersecurity others Management Product Management MCA Skills you'll gain: Duration: 7 Months S P Jain Institute of Management and Research CERT-SPJIMR Exec Cert Prog in AI for Biz India Starts on undefined Get Details Skills you'll gain: Duration: 9 months IIM Lucknow SEPO - IIML CHRO India Starts on undefined Get Details Skills you'll gain: Duration: 28 Weeks MICA CERT-MICA SBMPR Async India Starts on undefined Get Details Skills you'll gain: Duration: 16 Weeks Indian School of Business CERT-ISB Transforming HR with Analytics & AI India Starts on undefined Get Details "The regulator wanted to know whether ULI is facing issues, and how to resolve them," said a person aware of the discussions. "Some lenders told the RBI that they already have the technology stack and tie-ups in place for different loan products and, hence, the integrating ULI has been slow." The person cited above also attributed a slow start to regulatory scrutiny on the type of instruments that would have been at the vanguard of the ULI, developed by the Reserve Bank Innovation Hub. "Adoption also was lower because of the overall caution among lenders, especially in the unsecured segment," said the person aware of the discussions. "Incidentally, the early use case was around small-ticket personal loans , which came under regulatory scrutiny." Live Events More than 600,000 loans amounting to ₹27,000 crore have been disbursed using the ULI platform until early-December 2024, RBI data showed. According to industry executives, the sources of lead for lenders in ULI was mainly surrounding personal loans and unsecured small-business lending, both of which dried out because of cautious lending. "Some lenders also tried supply chain financing via ULI. But that too did not take up. Lending is a growing market, hence ULI will also pick up gradually. However, there needs to be the establishment of a use case," said a senior official with a Mumbai-based NBFC. At least 36 lenders, including various banks and NBCs have been onboarded till December 2024. These lenders are using more than 50 data services including, authentication and verification services, land records data from six states, satellite service, property search, dairy insights and document verification, to gain customer information.
The Hindu
14-07-2025
- Business
- The Hindu
Indian Bank donates mobile utility sheds to Srirangam temple
The Indian Bank, under its Corporate Social Responsibility initiative, has provided 15 mobile utility sheds to the Sri Ranganathaswamy Temple in Srirangam. Designed with wheels for easy mobility, these sheds will assist the temple in its large-scale public service efforts, including providing shelter to devotees, managing crowd movement and facilitating services during festivals and peak pilgrim periods. M. Nagaraju, Secretary, Department of Financial Services, Ministry of Finance and Binod Kumar, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Indian Bank, handed over the mobile utility sheds on the temple premises, a press release from the Indian Bank said.
The Hindu
13-07-2025
- Business
- The Hindu
Indian Bank hands over sanction letters worth ₹1,011 cr to over 3,000 women
Public sector Indian Bank has handed over sanction letters worth ₹1,011 crore to over 3,000 women, extending financial support to Self Help Groups across Tamil Nadu. Ministry of Finance, Department of Financial Services, Secretary M. Nagaraju presented the cheques to the beneficiaries at a Mega Self Help Group Credit Outreach Programme held at Tamukkam Convention Centre, in Madurai. In his brief address, Mr. Nagaraju emphasised that access to capital for livelihood activities is crucial. "Such initiatives not only reduce the dependence on sources of informal credits but also help inclusion into the formal financial ecosystem," he observed. "More than 3,000 women from various self-help groups across Tamil Nadu were part of the event. Sanction letters to the tune of ₹1,011 crore were handed over during the mega SHG credit outreach programme," the Chennai-based bank said in a press release on Sunday (July 13, 2025). Indian Bank Managing Director and CEO Binod Kumar, Executive Directors Ashutosh Choudhury, Shiv Bajrang Singh and Brajesh Kumar Singh were present on the occasion. Indian Bank has so far assisted 5.09 lakh self help groups benefitting more than 60 lakh women. The bank currently stands as the 4th largest public sector banks in SHG financing with over 10 per cent market share and a credit portfolio of ₹22,224 crore as of March 2025, it said.
The Hindu
12-07-2025
- Business
- The Hindu
NABARD launches numerous programmes at its 44th foundation day celebration
On the occasion of its 44th Foundation Day, the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) launched several initiatives including a Graduated Rural Income Generation Programme (GRIP) on Saturday in Chennai. The initiative is a livelihood intervention programme for ultra-poor rural households using returnable grants and capacity support to transition them into formal economic activity. Among its other launches include, inauguration of NABARD's Sub-office in Leh, Ladakh, launch of NABARD's official WhatsApp Channel and RuralTech CoLab Portal - an open digital innovation platform. It also announced a Grievance Redressal System for Rural Cooperative Banks called NIVARAN among other initiatives. Shaji K.V, Chairman, NABARD, M. Nagaraju, Secretary, Department of Financial Services, and N. Muruganandam, Chief Secretary of Tamil Nadu spoke in the event.
The Hindu
12-07-2025
- Business
- The Hindu
‘Indian Bank's journey in empowering women SHGs is remarkable'
Indian Bank's journey in empowering women through financing self-help groups was started in 1982 with a simple yet powerful idea, stated M. Nagaraju, Secretary, Department of Financial Services, Ministry of Finance. Speaking at the mega SHG credit outreach programme conducted by Indian Bank here on Saturday, he said that the idea to link unregistered groups of poor individuals, particularly women, with the formal banking system, started as a pilot project, has now grown into a nationwide movement, touching the lives of 178 million households. 'As of now, 14.42 million SHGs are linked to savings and 7.74 million have access to credit. Over 58% of these SHGs are under the National Rural Livelihoods Mission, a testament to the strength and scale of this programme,' he noted. The SHG-bank linkage was particularly strong in the Southern and Eastern regions, each contributing 30% of the total. The central and western regions followed with 14% each, while the northern and north-eastern regions contributed 6% each, Mr. Nagaraju listed. Further, he appealed to the SHGs with above two to three years' experience to seek business loans from the banks. 'As the Government of India guarantees loans up to ₹10 lakh, the entrepreneurial loan can uplift the life of many people by helping them step into businesses,' he noted. Lauding Indian Bank as a pioneer in SHGs, he said the banks had so far assisted 5.09 lakh SHGs, benefitting more than 60 lakh women. 'Today, the bank stands at the fourth largest public sector bank in SHG linkage with 10% market share and an outstanding credit portfolio of ₹22,224 crore as of March 2025,' he added. Also, the bank was the first to introduce the concept of SHG-bank linkage in India as early as 1989, much before National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD)'s pilot programme in 1992. The effort of the bank which started in Tamil Nadu Dharmapuri district, since them, has grown to serve millions of women across the State and the country, he noted. 'The Indian bank is the first to open specialised branches called microsate branches to cater to the exclusive needs of SHG members. As of today, there are 57 microsate branches dedicated to support SHG members across India, of which 35 branches are in Tamil Nadu,' Mr. Nagaraju said. Mr. Nagaraju distributed loan amounts to women beneficiaries of SHGs. This initiative was part of the broader strategy to disburse over ₹20,000 crore to SHGs nationwide in the financial year 2026, organisers said.
