In the near future, more than 3,000 small diamond factories in the largest Indian center in Surat will be able to borrow from nationalized banks, the Times of India reported last week.
A meeting of the state-level banking commission was held in the city, attended by the leaders of the diamond industry and senior officials of the Surat Diamond Association (SDA). The meeting participants discussed ways to increase the scale of loan financing for small and medium-sized enterprises in the diamond sector.
The experts said that the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) established a high-level banking commission, in which six major Indian lending institutions are represented: Bank of Baroda, Bank of India, Dena Bank, State Bank of India, Central Bank of India and Corporation Bank. The Commission will work out ways and measures designed to provide access to loan financing for small businesses. Within 10 days the commission will send an RBI report on the results of its work.
SDA President Dinesh Navadia told the Times of India: "Most state-owned banks serve large diamond companies through their offices in Mumbai. At the same time, banks do not have branches in Surat. We urged credit institutions to open units in Surat to provide loans to small and medium-sized enterprises ... Providing bank financing to such companies will put an end to the private lending spreading in the city, forcing diamantaires to take funds at 6-7% per annum. "