CURRENT AFFAIRS

Detailed explanation-1: -Recently, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) released revised Priority Sector Lending (PSL) guidelines, which align with emerging national priorities and also bring sharper focus on inclusive development.

Detailed explanation-2: -Master Directions – Priority Sector Lending (PSL) – Targets and Classification. The Priority Sector Lending (PSL) guidelines issued by Reserve Bank of India were last reviewed for Commercial Banks in April 2015 and for UCBs in May 2018 respectively.

Detailed explanation-3: -Public sector lending (PSL) is mandated by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), making it a requirement for domestic and foreign banks to offer loans to specific sectors and sub-sectors within the nation’s economy.

Detailed explanation-4: -Priority Sectors Lending is the role exercised by the RBI to banks, imploring them to dedicate funds for specific sectors of the economy like agriculture and allied activities, education and housing and food for the poorer population.

Detailed explanation-5: -The origins of priority sector (PS) lending can be traced back to 1966 when Morarji Desai saw a need for increasing credit to agriculture and small industries. However, the definition for PS was only formalised based on a Reserve Bank of India (RBI) report in the National Credit Council in 1972.