Union Minister of State for Development of North Eastern Region Sukanta Majumdar on Tuesday, 14 October 2026, called for accelerated banking expansion, improved credit access, and tighter coordination between financial institutions and state governments to drive economic growth across Northeast India. He was addressing the North East Bankers' Conclave 3.0 at Mizoram University in Aizawl.

Progress on Financial Inclusion

Majumdar highlighted that 131 new bank branches have been opened and 126 ATMs installed across the northeastern region. Of 9,479 identified villages, 6,905 — roughly 73% — are now connected to either a bank branch or an India Post Payments Bank (IPPB) outlet. However, he noted that 2,574 villages remain unbanked, with 2,515 of these slated for coverage through IPPB and 59 through physical bank branches.

He urged state governments and banks to set clear deadlines and accelerate the rollout to close this gap. The minister also called on banks to operationalise prepared locations quickly and deploy Business Correspondents and BC-Sakhis wherever full-fledged branches are not immediately feasible.

Credit-Deposit Ratio Concerns

Majumdar expressed concern over the Credit-Deposit (CD) ratio in the region. While Manipur and Assam are at or above the national CD ratio of 79.5%, states such as Mizoram and several others continue to lag behind. He stressed that regional savings must be converted into local investment and business opportunities rather than flowing out of the region.

To improve credit flow, he called for bank-specific lending targets, regular reviews through State Level Bankers' Committees (SLBCs), reliable land records, complete Aadhaar seeding of eligible CASA accounts, and wider participation in the PM SVANidhi scheme. Banks were also encouraged to proactively evaluate viable loan proposals from farmers, MSMEs, women entrepreneurs, and tourism enterprises.

Structural Challenges and the Six-Point Roadmap

The minister identified the absence of suitable buildings, all-weather roads, and VSAT or fibre connectivity as key bottlenecks. He urged Chief Secretaries to assign clear responsibilities and timelines for every pending banking location. Referring to the six-point roadmap adopted at the North East Bankers' Conclave 2.0 in Agartala in December 2024 — held under the guidance of Home Minister Amit Shah — Majumdar underscored ongoing efforts to expand banking infrastructure and deepen financial inclusion.

That roadmap had focused on increasing bank branches and ATMs, connecting unbanked villages, improving coverage in low-density districts, adapting banking norms to regional conditions, and ensuring universal access to Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT). Notably, the population norm for establishing a new bank branch in the Northeast has already been reduced to 2,000 on a cluster basis, compared with the national standard of 3,000.

Economic Potential and the Way Forward

Majumdar emphasised that infrastructure development in the Northeast must be matched by accessible and affordable credit if farmers, entrepreneurs, and small businesses are to benefit from emerging economic opportunities. The conclave's four breakout sessions covered banking infrastructure, MSMEs and women entrepreneurs, agricultural finance, and infrastructure financing.

This is the third edition of the conclave; the first was held in New Delhi in April 2023 to address regional banking gaps. Majumdar said stronger banking infrastructure, improved credit access, and coordinated implementation would help create more opportunities, strengthen livelihoods, and support sustainable growth across Mizoram and the entire northeastern region. The next steps hinge on state governments meeting the deadlines the minister urged them to set.