The Tirupati zone of the Andhra Bank has topped among its 33 zones in the country in opening of saving bank accounts under the Prime Minister Jan Dhan Yojana (PMDY), according to the zone manager D. Kishan Prasad.
The Tirupati zone, comprising Kadapa and Chittoor districts, has made rapid strides in executing the project. According to statistics, With a population of 41.74 lakh, grouped into 10.39 lakh households, Chittoor district has a predominantly-large rural base with 29.42 lakh residents, which offers a huge potential for financial inclusion. “As 61,000 households are yet to have bank accounts, it has been identified as a major thrust area for taking the financial inclusion forward,” Mr. Kishan Prasad said.
When Union Minister Anant Gangaram Geete launched the PMDY in Tirupati last week, a whopping 1,00,900 accounts were opened in Chittoor district in a day, of which Andhra Bank alone contributed 24,000 accounts.
The clinching factor here is not only the inducements like zero balance, overdraft facility and accident insurance coverage, but also the elimination of hassles by the effective use of e-KYC (electronic version of ‘Know Your Customer’) by accessing the Aadhaar database. Aadhaar card holders need not carry all documents as proof and can just walk into any branch to open the Basic Savings Bank Deposit (BSBD) account.
With plans afoot to install biometric reading devices in bank branches soon, bankers hope to avoid pilferage in reaching out benefits like subsidies, wages, scholarships and pensions.
