GUWAHATI, June 27 – If Assam remains underdeveloped today, compared to the rest of the country, a large part of the blame has to go to the all-India financial institutions (AIFIs) who have, over the years, invested little in this part of the country. This, when they have no qualms in garnering resources from the region. Available data suggest that Assam has not been receiving due attention in respect of sanction and disbursement of finance by these institutions when compared with the position of some of the comparatively developed States as well as the country as a whole. As a result, the State has not been able to keep pace with the developments witnessed in some other parts of the country, the latest Assam Economic Survey says.
The basic idea behind the setting up of the AIFIs was to provide the much-needed thrust for the development of industrial and other sectors of the economy. Another objective was to remove or reduce the regional disparities in economic growth. Over the years, institutions like the IDBI, IFCI, ICICI, IDFC, SIDBI, IIBI, Exim Bank, NABARD, LICI, GIC, besides the NEDFi, 28 SIDCs and 18 SFCs have been expanding on a large scale, providing the much needed money to industry, trade and commerce.
Figures based on the Report on Development Banking in India, 2002-03, brought out by the IDBI, state that since 1998-99, the assistance sanctioned to Assam by the AIFIs till March 2003 was Rs 3,045 crore compared to the all-India figure of Rs 7,97,178 crore. Actual disbursement was much lower at Rs 1,985 crore compared to the all-India level of Rs 5,70,254 crore.
A more stark reflection of the state of affairs is evident in the 2000-01 IDBI Report on Development Banking in India. According to that, the cumulative per capita sanctions and disbursements by different AIFIs in Assam, from 1997-98 to March 2001, is far less than the all-India figures. The IDBI itself disbursed a mere Rs 230.9 per capita in Assam compared to the national figure of Rs 1,426.8. The IFCI disbursed Rs 114.6 in Assam while the national figure was Rs 400.5. The ICICI’s disbursement in Assam per capita was Rs 203 compared to the national figure of Rs 1,423.2.
The story is the same for the more prominent institutions. The SIDBI disbursed Rs 42 per capita in Assam while the level of disbursement per capita at the all-India level was Rs 327.9. The LICI disbursed Rs 12.3 per capita in Assam compared to the all-India figure of Rs 322.7 per capita. The General Insurance Corporation (GIC) disbursed Rs 61.4 as all-India per capita while the disbursement for Assam was a mere Rs 2.2. The Unit Trust of India (UTI) disbursed Rs 18.8 per capita in Assam while its all-India disbursement was Rs 431.5.