Par panel seeks report from India Post on payments bank

The Parliamentary Standing Committee on IT has sought a report from India Post with regard to the progress made by the department for starting payments bank, setting up of ATMs and real estate management.
The committee, headed by BJP MP Anurag Thakur, is scheduled to discuss all issues in this regard during its meeting tomorrow, an official source said.
The pilot for payments bank is set to start from January 2017 while full-fledged operations may start by March 2017.
As many as 40 international financial conglomerates, including World Bank and Barclays, have shown interest to partner with Postal Department for the payments bank.

The Reserve Bank of India has granted payments bank permit to the postal department, which has 1.55 lakh branches across country and already provides financial services.
The Public Investment Board (PIB) is soon likely to approve the Rs 800-crore proposal from Postal Department for setting up payments bank.
As part of the modernisation project, the postal department also plans to open 1000 ATMs by March this year.