Focus of Centre is to ensure development of all sections: Chidambaram

The UPA government's aim and focus was to ensure development of all sections of the society, Union Finance Minister P Chidambaram said in Sivganga on Sunday.

Inaugurating the 1856th branch of Bank Of Maharashtra at A Kalathur near here today, he said a large number of bank branches were opened in the recent times in villages, mainly to benefit Self Help Groups and small traders.

He said traders could approach any bank to get loan for expanding their business, after investing it in a small scale.

"There was no harm in borrowing money for business or Industry. It was the right of the traders to take loan...and duty of the bank to give them loan. If the banks do not lend the deposits then they would not be able to get profit. But the loanees should do proper business and repay the loan with interest", he said.

The Union minister said the banks were nationalised to give access to the poor and underprivileged people.

The banks were competing to open branches after the announcement that they could open 10,000 branches this year and provide employment to 50,000 people, Chidambaram said.

The infrastructure facilities including rail, road transport and communication had made the world "shrink" even as as trade expanded vastly, he said.

Presently, from a small place one can sell his product anywhere in the world. That was the type of development that the government had achieved, he said.