Over 1 lakh existing bank branches in the country and every other bank branch to be inaugurated hereafter would be equipped with Automated Teller Machines (ATMs) by the end of March 31, 2014, Union Finance Minister P.Chidambaram said here on Saturday.
Addressing the inaugural of the 5,999th branch of Punjab National Bank (PNB) at Tirupattur near here, he said he had issued three significant orders to the chairmen-cum-managing directors of all nationalised banks in the country and asked them to implement the orders during the current financial year.
The first order was to establish 8,000 new bank branches in every nook and cranny of the country, especially in rural areas, during the current year as against the target of 6,000 branches set during the previous years. The aim was to take banking services to the doorstep of the common man.
The second order was to establish ATMs in every bank branch so that the customers in rural pockets too could withdraw money at will without having to wait for the banking hours. He appreciated the PNB for setting up not one but three machines inside the ATM kiosk at Tirupattur branch.
While the first machine was meant to withdraw money, the other was for depositing money and the third for printing passbooks.
The third order was to disburse as much money as possible to agriculturalists in the form of crop loans and loans for purchasing farm implements.
The Finance Minister was slated to inaugurate the bank’s 6,000th branch at Alangudi and the 6,001th branch in Sivaganga on Sunday.
