Rural cooperative banking tops Merkels Mumbai agenda

Visiting German Chancellor Angela Merkel today reached Mumbai where she discussed the strides made in the rural cooperative banking by the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD).

Mumbai, Oct 31 : Visiting German Chancellor Angela Merkel today reached Mumbai where she discussed the strides made in the rural cooperative banking by the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD).

Impressed with India's rural banking system, Merkel has emphasized that a robust micro-financing system would play a great role in bringing development in rural areas.

India and Germany has already initiated the Rural Cooperative Credit Project / Linkage Banking Project, as part of its joint development cooperation programme. Later in the day, Merkel is slated to meet Maharashtra Governor S M Krishna.

Merkel's visit to India is largely aimed at boosting business ties between the two countries, whose trade touched about 10.5 billion euros (15 billion U.S. dollars), four years ahead of an official target.

German businessmen travelling with Merkel said that India need to lift caps set on foreign investment in insurance, banking, retail and telecommunications sectors.

On Tuesday, Merkel had said that the 'Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs)' would lead the new era of cooperation with India.

German companies, who are planning to set up their businesses here, will soon be establishing a vocational training centre for Indian manpower.

"Germany has enormous experience and local knowledge of development cooperation," Merkel had said.

Merkel, who is on a four-day visit to India, her first as chancellor, arrived in the New Delhi on Monday, where she signed a Joint Declaration with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh emphasizing on the need to further develop the bilateral strategic partnerships.

ANI