New Delhi, Aug. 26 -- The Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) has held a conclave with heads of Regional Rural Banks (RRBs) to explore the expansion of its MSME co-lending arrangement, aimed at improving credit access for borrowers in rural and semi-urban areas.

The conclave, chaired by Sanjay Lohiya, Secretary, Department of Financial Services, was attended by Manoj Mittal, CMD of SIDBI, senior officials from DFS, SIDBI and NABARD, and chairpersons of all 28 RRBs.

The Secretary highlighted the need to scale up MSME lending by combining SIDBI's expertise in understanding MSME credit requirements with the extensive reach of RRBs across smaller towns and villages.

The arrangement is also expected to help RRBs diversify the...