NSE, NSI to train agents in savings concepts

The National Stock Exchange (NSE) and the National Savings Institute (NSI) have teamed up to train NSI agents who act as primary distributors of the National Savings Schemes operated through post offices and select banks.

The distributors will be trained in the financial domain and savings concepts, while the initiative is also expected to enable them to take additional financial market products like Exchange Traded Funds (ETF) to the public, the NSE said in a statement on Wednesday.

"In our endeavour to ensure financial inclusion, such initiatives will help to create awareness about exchange traded products and their utilities. This, in turn, is expected to unlock savings for productive use of the nation," said NSE managing director and CEO Chitra Ramakrishnan.

On Wednesday, as many as 100 NSI agents took lessons on creating awareness about financial planning and savings concepts, government savings in specific and creating awareness of capital markets products, exploring opportunities for promoting retail savings products and others.

NSE is also planning to organise more than 1,000 awareness programmes across the nation in the fiscal 2015-16, the statement added.

Falling under the purview of the department of economic affairs under the finance ministry, the NSI is linked to 1.54 lakh post offices and 25,000 select bank branches in India.

The 20-year-old NSE operates its flagship index Nifty 50 and is a platform for exchange traded financial products in India.