The Cabinet  at the meeting chaired by the Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi gave its approval to the following:

(i) To implement the Scheme for Revival of 23 unlicensed District Central Cooperative Banks (DCCBs) in four States.  These are 16 in Uttar Pradesh, three in Jammu & Kashmir, three in Maharashtra and one in West Bengal. Under the Scheme, the total capital infusion required for revival of these 23 DCCBs would be ₹ 2375.42 crore, out of which the commitment from the Central Government would be ₹ 673.29 crore, from State Governments ₹ 1464.59 crore and from NABARD ₹ 237.54 crore.

(ii) The Gol`s share of ₹ 673.29 crore would be released through NABARD as interest-free loan and would be converted into grant on fulfilment of conditionalities/deliverables outlined in the Scheme which, among other things includes bringing the NPAs to at least half of the current levels by 31.3.2017; making 15 percent growth rate of deposits for next two years; drawing up of a monthly Monitorable Action Plan; placement of competent CEOs fulfilling `Fit & Proper` criteria; and putting Corporate Governance Systems in place. The assistance from NABARD would be in the form of loan to the respective State Governments under Section 27 of NABARD Act, 1981.

The Scheme for revival of these unlicensed DCCBs will help in revival of these cooperative banks.   This will result in protecting the interests of depositors and catering to the credit needs of farmers. Once revived, these cooperative banks would become eligible for obtaining licenses from RBI for continuing their operations in rural areas and would also be able to achieve CRAR requirement prescribed by RBI.   This means 7 percent CRAR by 31st March, 2015 and 9 percent CRAR by 31st March, 2017.

For the purpose of implementation of the Scheme, a tripartite agreement in the form of Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), stipulating conditionalities and deliverables, will be signed between the Central Government, concerned State Government and NABARD. During the implementation of the Scheme, operations of these 23 unlicensed DCCBs would be closely monitored by NABARD and RBI, so that they meet the licensing requirement within the time frame as prescribed in the Scheme.

The list of the places where the DCCBs are located is given below:

Uttar Pradesh:

1. Deoria

2. Bahraich

3. Siddharth Nagar

4. Sultanpur

5. Jaunpur

6. Hardoi

7. Basti

8. Ballia,

9. Azamgarh

10. Gorakhpur

11. Fatehpur

12. Sitapur

13. Varanasi

14. Allahabad,

15. Ghazipur and

16. Faizabad

Maharashtra:

17. Buldhana

18. Nagpur

19. Wardha

Jammu & Kashmir:

20. Baramullah

21. Anantnag

22. Jammu

West Bengal:

23. Birbhum

Revival scheme for unlicensed cooperative banks ties loan support to governance reforms and NPA reduction for licensing eligibility. Approval for a Scheme to revive 23 unlicensed DCCBs by capital infusion from the Central Government, State Governments and NABARD, with the Centre's share provided through NABARD as an interest free loan convertible into grant upon meeting conditionalities including substantial NPA reduction, specified deposit growth, a monthly Monitorable Action Plan, appointment of Fit & Proper CEOs, and corporate governance reforms; implementation via tripartite MoUs and close monitoring by NABARD and RBI to secure licensing eligibility and meet CRAR targets.