The government on Wednesday pulled up some of the PSU banks for not meeting the agriculture loan targets, but praised for a hefty 37 per cent rise in the operating profits aggregating at over Rs 21,000 crore (Rs 210 billion).

The government also lauded the banks for reducing the non-performing assets to 4.5 per cent in 2002-03, which is expected to fall further to 2 per cent this fiscal.

"Some banks have not fulfilled the 18 per cent target for extending loans to the agriculture sector," Minister of State for Finance Anandrao Adsul said after a review meeting with the heads of the PSU banks, in New Delhi.

The finance ministry has directed the banks to meet the target and step up lending to the farm sector to Rs 7,00,000 crore (Rs 7,000 billion) by 2007 from the present Rs 2,00,000 crore (Rs 2,000 billion).

Adsul said the banks should step up efforts to issue Kisan credit cards to all the eligible farmers. Banks have so far issued about 97 lakh cards.

Enthused by the overall performance, Adsul said there are no "weak" banks in the public sector after the Indian Bank came out of the red. "All the banks performed well profit-wise and in totality," he said.

The operating profits of the PSU banks grew by a robust 37 per cent at over Rs 21,000 crore (Rs 210 billion), while the net profit was over Rs 8,000 crore (Rs 80 billion).

The Indian Banks Association chairman, Dalbir Singh, said the net NPAs came down to 4.5 per cent of the net advances last fiscal from 6-7 per cent in 2001-02.

"We are targeting to bring it down to 2 per cent in 2003-04," he said.