Staff Reporter
GUWAHATI: The banking coverage in the state is not up to the mark. The distribution of bank branches across the districts shows that only ten districts in the state have more than 100 branches each. This is what the Economic Survey Report of Assam has revealed.
According to the report, the state had 3,185 scheduled commercial bank branches till 2024. The deposit, on the other hand, has been increasing. In 2014, the amount deposited in the bank branches in the state was Rs 85,069 crore; that increased to Rs 2,23,478 crore in 2024.
The low banking services in Assam are reflected by high population coverage per bank branch. The average population served per bank branch in the state in 2024 was 10,103 persons against the all-India average of 8,839 persons.
On the other hand, the credit-deposit (C-D) ratio in the state was 61 per cent in 2024, compared to 71 per cent at the national level. According to the report, only 17 districts in the state have crossed the 60 per cent C-D ratio, 14 districts have the C-D ratio from 40 to 60 per cent, and the C-D ratio was less than 40 per cent in two districts. In total, ten low-performing districts were justifying special attention and intervention.
Interestingly, the C-D ratio is the highest in the West Karbi Anglong, at 97.7 per cent. It is followed by Lakimpur with 96.3 per cent and Karbi Anglong with 88.3 per cent. The lowest percentage of C-D ratio was in the Dima Hasao district, at 36.8 per cent. While Sribhumi had the C-D ratio of 40.4 per cent, 49.9 per cent in Cachar, 53.7 per cent in Kamrup (M), 49.7 in Kokrajhar, etc.
About 48.75 per cent of the 3,185 bank branches in the state were in rural areas, 29 per cent in semi-urban areas, and 22.1 per cent in urban areas. Although rural areas have a higher share of bank branches, the share of deposits and credit is higher for semi-urban and urban bank branches. In 2024, the total deposits in banks in the state were Rs 2,23,478 crore, and the credit against them was Rs 1,45,906 crore.
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