A Study on Region-Wise Disparities in the Business of Regional Rural Banks (RRBs)

We are far away from balanced regional development, which is one of the objectives of our Five Year Plans since Independence. Even after one decade of completion of the 21st century, we have been unable to achieve the objectives of the five-year plans. This is clearly evident from the facts and figures related to the Banking sector. The proportion of Regional Rural Banks (RRBs) branch network Is only 4.4 and 6.6 percent In the North-Eastern region and Western region. In case of the Central and Southern region, It Is 30.9 and 20.9 percent respectively. The Credit-Deposit ratio of the Southern region is as high as 96.58 and in case of the North-Eastern region, it is as low as 45.08. In this paper, an attempt has been made to study the region-wise disparities in the performance of RRBs. The findings of the study revealed that there Is a difference in the region-wise performance of the RRBs. The highest CAGR was recorded by the North region at 19.51% followed by the Southern region at 19.50% during the last 16 years, and the lowest growth rate was recorded by the Central region at 17.31%.