Business school students anchor financial inclusion drive in Odisha

The financial inclusion drive was done between April and June in 2017

For Sangeeta Sahoo (name changed), spreading the word on gains of banking in remote, un-banked villages in Odisha is an experience to treasure. She is among the 60 students from technical institutes across the state who have participated in this unique exercise where students lead the campaign to deepen financial inclusion.

"The villagers of Matiapada in Puri district had little financial literacy to take effective decisions with all of their financial resources. We apprised the villagers about the benefits of getting linked to the banks. It was a unique experience", she recounts. Sangeeta studies business management at an institute here. Little she could realise that the scope of management education could go beyond the humdrum of case studies to a more realistic interface with people at the bottom of the pyramid.

For Sangeeta, it was nothing short of an innovation in management learning. The participation in Reserve Bank of India's (RBI's) programme was part of her summer internship programme with the central bank's regional office. From apprising the local villagers on the benefits of enrolling in the government's social security schemes and ways to save money, she did it with ease.

The initiation of management students to the poor yet financially bankable people took off with a unique initiative by RBI's Bhubaneswar office. A RBI official claims that Odisha is the first state where such a step in financial inclusion has been piloted. With the success RBI tasted by roping in B-school students, it has already thought of implementing the inclusion model in other unbanked villages.

"This financial inclusion drive is a pilot project and one of its kind in the country. It will be further replicated in other districts by roping in students from technical institutes and colleges. The focus will be on covering the unbanked villages", said a RBI official.

Innovating models are being experimented to ensure financial inclusion takes deep roots. The state government has initiated talks with small finance banks and payments banks to set up brick and mortar branches in 677 un-banked gram panchayats. Earlier, to incentivise commercial banks to put up branches in unbanked regions, the Odisha government has dangled incentives by offering rent free office space and financial support for three-phase power supply. But, to cover all the un-banked 4,200 gram panchayats is a tall order. A bank branch may not be feasible in all untouched areas and banking correspondent model cannot be the only alternative. This is where RBI's experiment of engaging the budding managers can deliver.

Another management student recalls how RBI's initiative paid off in two un-banked villages, Jamuna and Jharpada in Puri district. "Though a majority of villagers had bank accounts, they weren't quite aware of the benefits. The nearest bank branch was 10-12 km away and there was no banking correspondent to help. As a group of four students, we visited the villages for three consecutive days. The effort not only translated into an opening of more bank accounts but also people opening up to the benefits of internet banking, fund transfer and United Payments Interface (UPI)."

In Odisha, RBI has chosen 60 students from 15 management institutes to widen financial inclusion in 15 un-banked villages in Cuttack, Puri, Khurda and Jagatsinghpur districts.

"Keeping the distance and accessibility in the mind, students were allotted those villages where they can work in hassle free manner and the pilot project can be successfully conducted", the official added.

The financial inclusion drive was done between April and June this year. And, it proved to be a success with 500 bank accounts opened. Those with bank accounts were enrolled under flagship schemes — Atal Pension Yojana, Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana (PMSBY) and Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana (PMJJBY).