RBI's Decision On Cooperative Banks To Provide Momentum To Affordable Housing: Amit Shah

Cooperation Minister Amit Shah on Thursday said the RBI's decision to relax norms for cooperative banks for home loans will provide momentum to the government's goal of providing affordable housing for the people. 

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Wednesday announced a host of measures for the cooperative banking sector and allowed rural cooperative banks to lend to commercial real estate and residential housing sectors.

Referring to the RBI decision to allow Rural Cooperative Banks (RCBs) to lend to commercial real estate and residential housing sector, the minister said: "With this important decision, the scope of our rural cooperative banks will increase further".

"Along with this, the resolution of giving affordable houses to the people will also get momentum," Shah said in a series of tweets. 

Among other key decisions, the RBI has doubled the limit of individual housing loans for urban cooperative banks and more than doubled for rural cooperative banks.

The individual housing loan limit for tier-I urban cooperative banks (UCBs) has been increased from Rs 30 lakh to Rs 60 lakh, for tier-2 UCBs from Rs 70 lakh to Rs 1.40 crore and RCBs limit has been increased from Rs 20 lakh and Rs 30 lakh to Rs 50 lakh and Rs 75 lakh, respectively, he said. 

In the third decision, the minister said, the RBI has allowed urban cooperative banks to provide doorstep banking facilities to their customers. 

"With this decision, cooperative banks will get a level playing field in the competitive banking sector and they will be able to provide door-to-door banking facilities to customers like other banks," he added. 

The minister also mentioned that the cooperative sector has immense potential for the development and empowerment of farmers, agriculture and rural areas of the country. 

"Therefore, under the leadership of Prime Minister Shri @narendramodiji, the central government is working continuously to empower the cooperative sector with the mantra of 'Sahakar Se Prosperity," Shah tweeted.