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Gite takes over as minister of state for finance

The new Minister of State for Finance, Anant Gangaram Gite, who assumed office on Tuesday, said he would take tough measures to weed out unscrupulous elements on the boards of co-operative banks to ensure that scams do not recur.

A third-time Shiv Sena member of Lok Sabha, the 49-year-old Gite told reporters immediately after assuming office that co-operative banks were crucial for hastening development of rural areas and hence topmost priority would have to be given to make them run efficiently and in a professional way.

Gite replaces his senior colleague Balasaheb Vikhe-Patil, who has been promoted as Cabinet minister and shifted to the Heavy Industries ministry.

Gite, who is associated with co-operative movement in Maharashtra, will be in-charge of banking and insurance division in the finance ministry.

Vested interests were responsible for frequent scams in the co-operative banks, particularly in Maharashtra, and steps would be taken to weed out unscrupulous elements irrespective of their political affiliation, said Gite.

He said the banking department was crucial for promoting development and he would strive hard to ensure that economic development percolated down to the village level.

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