MP: IT-enabled financial inclusion process tardy

Bankers and the state government are yet to gel with each other to hasten the process of opening of electronically-operated bank accounts of the labourers under the government-sponsored schemes like National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme. On one hand, the state IT department has urged the government to include those non-government organisations which are working with it for its ambitious information technology project to provide better governance, while on the other, bankers want those NGOs to be registered under Section 25 of the Companies Act.

“We have five partners that have opened more than 2,000 kiosks. The bankers can open IT-enabled account of the labourers with them,” a senior IT official told Business Standard. The bankers have said they are progressing and opening more and more accounts. The State Bank of India has issued 4,500 cards, Bank of India 4,198 cards (1,909 activated), State Bank of Indore, 28, 997 cards, Union Bank of India 40, 390 cards, Central Bank of India 30,000 cards, Axis Bank 60 cards and ICICI Bank 2, 581 cards. The bankers have to appoint more business correspondents, they can now appoint individual people as business correspondents.

“We need to have more correspondents and we are in the process of appointing them,” said a senior banker with the State Bank of India.

The State Bank has tied up with some NGOs to provide facility in rural areas. A village-level entrepreneur can also be a business correspondent to any bank on commission basis to deliver banking product at his enterprise. A grocery shop owner, a small restaurant or similar business set up owner can operate the bank account with a hand-held devics that can provide access to rural people.

“The business correspondent can become our one-stop shop for rural people, particularly those who work for government-sponsored schemes,” the banker said.