The latest report by State Level Bankers’ Committee (SLBC) Gujarat indicates that bank deposits in the state increased by almost Rs.1.01 lakh crores in the second quarter of the financial year 2021-22 in comparison to the same period during previous financial year. The increase amount to 12.4% in percentage terms.
At the end of first quarter of 2021-22, the deposits were Rs.8.84 lakh crores and at the end of second quarter it rose to Rs.9.17 lakh crores which is an increase of 3.73 %. The bank deposits at the end of second quarter in 2020-21 stood at Rs.8.15 lakh crores which means there is 12.4% increase.
The increase is more pronounced in case of small finance banks (60.4%) and private banks (22.3%). It is 8.1% in case of nationalised banks and 9.3% in cooperative banks. In Regional rural banks the increase is 10.1%
Experts believe that the increase is due to the halted capital expediture as despite the economic recovery after covid, the industrial sector is still in the wait and watch mode for any further expansion of the time being. Second important factor is that due to unforeseen medical expenses witnessed during last wave of covid, people prefer to save the money, which has resulted in the surge.
