Maharashtra to get 15,000 micro-ATMs from Centre for rural inclusion

According to IT Secretary Rajesh Agrawal 6.35 crore Aadhar card enrolments have been done in Maharashtra

In order to facilitate financial inclusion of people from remote areas in the state, Maharashtra will get around 15,000 micro-ATMs from Centre.

Moreover, as many as 20,000 Business Correspondents (BCs) will be appointed for the purpose of taking banking to the doorstep of the people in remote areas by allowing them to do transactions at Point of Sale or PoS (the micro ATM).

The four Aadhaar-enabled basic types of banking transactions can be done through micro-ATMs are balance enquiry, cash withdrawal, cash deposit and Aadhaar to Aadhaar funds transfer.

At present, there are about 500 BCs and their number will be enhanced considerably so that Mahatma Gandhi National Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGA) funds can be disbursed to the labour force immediately.

This assurance of micro ATMs was given by Nandan Nilankeni, Chairman of the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI), to Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan here recently.

According to Information Technology Secretary Rajesh Agrawal 6.35 crore Aadhar card enrolments have been done in Maharashtra.

"On a daily basis, we are doing 1.5 to 1.8 lakh enrolments which is the highest in the country. At 70-75 per cent, one crore enrolments have been done in Mumbai," he informed.

He said that 50 per cent of Aadhar card machines in the state will be shifted from schools to housing societies to facilitate the penetration.

"50 per cent of the total 4000-5000 Aadhar card machines in the state will be shifted from schools to housing societies. There are about 500 machines in Pune and Thane," Agrawal said, adding that the state will cross 85 per cent enrolment by March 2014.