Banks expand inclusion plans

Commercial banks in Karnataka have submitted their financial inclusion plan (FIP) appro-ved by their respective boa-rds to achieve the objective of providing banking facili-ties to all villages with a population of over 2,000 by March 2012. This follows a direction from the RBI to banks to draw up a roadmap to provide banking services through a banking outlet in every village.

As many as 3,395 villages in Karnataka with a popula-tion of over 2,000 would be covered by banking services by March 2012, said Basant Seth, chairman and managing director of Syndicate Bank and chairman of State Level Bankers Committee (SLBC).

These villages would be provided with banking faci-lities or services either by opening a bank branch or through any of the various forms of information and communication technology-based models, including thro-ugh business correspondents, he said at the 114th meeting of the SLBC here.

“Banks have to implement financial inclusion plan in the right earnest and achieve the target by putting in place the required infrastructure/technology,” Seth said.

He said, the UID would be a great facilitator for financial inclusion as it would help bank branches comply with Know-Your-Customer (KYC) norms and open no-frills accounts relying on an UID registration.

The Indian Banks’ Association (IBA) will shortly be launching a national level publicity campaign for creating awareness among the rural masses under the financial inclusion plan. SLBCs are expected to carry forward this campaign in a big way, Seth said.

Stating that technology adopted by banks was satisfactory in general, but it has not benefited the common man to the desired extent. As a result, banking transactions have not become cheaper, easier and faster due to the deficiency in delivery model, an absence of business process re-engineering (BPR) as also the lack of infrastructure. “What is needed at this stage is a planned, strategic and massive collaborative effort from all stakeholders to leverage technology in an effective way, bringing more people into the banking fold, reducing costs,” Seth added.

Reviewing the performance of the banks in Karnataka, Seth said they have disbursed Rs 7,696 crore during the quarter-ended June, 2010, against the projection of Rs 38,952 crore for 2010-11, achieving a growth of 19.76 per cent of the annual target.