Highest ever credit pick-up…

It's good news for the banking industry. The slowness in credit pick-up seems a thing of the past with the fourth quarter of 2003-04 account...

It’s good news for the banking industry. The slowness in credit pick-up seems a thing of the past with the fourth quarter of 2003-04 accounting for 68.88 per cent of the total non-food credit disbursement by banks. Banks’ non-food credit in this period stood at Rs 75,951 crore, which is almost Rs 20,000 crore higher than in the corresponding period of the preceding fiscal.

This level of increase is also the highest compared to the increase recorded in the corresponding period of any of the past fiscals. Analysts pointed out that with the turnaround in the global economy and the booming domestic economic scenario, banks are poised to see a better credit pick-up in the ongoing fiscal. Credit growth tracks industrial output with a lag and thus should grow strongly over the next six to 12 months.

However, the overall credit disbursement in the fiscal 2003-04 was way behind what banks had managed to do in 2002-03. This is despite the growth in credit offtake in the fourth quarter. Total credit disbursement in 2003-04 stood at Rs 1,10,253 crore, less than that in 2002-03 at Rs 1,52,048 crore. This is according to the RBI’s latest weekly statistical supplement.

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However, one should not lose sight of the fact that fiscal 2002-03 was an exception and is not comparable following the merger of ICICI Ltd with ICICI Bank.

Banks saw a significant demand for credit for housing and personal loans, particularly for purchase of consumer durables and automobiles in the fiscal gone by. “In the manufacturing sector, credit demand was reported from cement, iron and steel, transport equipment, textiles, chemicals and power sectors. The demand for credit from corporates was mainly for captive power plants, for balancing equipment and working capital,” the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy said in its latest monthly review.

Day after PM Modi’s visit to the town, Manipur’s Churachandpur sees violent protest

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Protests in Manipur's Churachandpur turned violent as two men were arrested for damaging decorations for PM Modi's visit. The crowd demanded their release and attempted to storm the police station. The men were eventually released after a bail hearing. The incident occurred after a clash between locals and police on Thursday, but the situation had calmed down before Saturday's visit.

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