The government’s outreach programme to ensure easier availability of auto finance boosted loan disbursal in the passenger vehicle segment in the October-December festive season of 2019, data shows. Vehicle loan disbursal by banks more than doubled in the October-December quarter of 2019 from a year ago after the government announced an outreach programme at the district level across the country. An analysis of Reserve Bank of India (RBI) data shows that banks offered Rs 10,155 crore in loans in the December quarter compared with Rs 3,833 crore in the same period a year ago, and Rs 1,292 crore in the April-September period of 2019. These loans are typically for buying two-wheelers, cars and small utility vehicles. “Banks and NBFCs reduced the lending rates, even the rejection rates had gone down. Even the finance penetration saw an increase to 79.1% at the end of December 2019,” Srivastava said.