The Reserve Bank of India would usher in "Model Villages" in eight districts of the State as part of its platinum jubilee celebrations.
Financial inclusion would be the objective of the "Model village" concept, where backward, under-banked villages outside of the banking network brought within its ambit.
The parameters for designating a village as a model village would be its backwardness and untapped banking potential, scope for financial inclusion and potential for facilitating income-generating activities through institutional credit through banks.
Around 190 villages have been designated as "Model Villages" across the country. Financial inclusion envisages a no-frills account including zero-balance account for every household. This would entail engaging business correspondents, who are agents of the banks with hand-held machines making a door-to-door visit to collect deposits, aid withdrawals and authenticate all transactions within 24 hours. Remoteness of villages as a deterrent to constructive banking would be addressed.
Vadagudi in Nagapattinam has been designated as a "model village". Of the 367 families, only 50 families owned bank accounts. A sectoral demographic analysis through door-to-door household profiling would be done to document the cropping and occupational pattern. This would aid in micro-planning through credit for the model village. Management students of E.G.S. Pillai College of Engineering and Technology, Nagapattinam would conduct house-hold profiling for the village, said A. Thanikachalam, Lead Bank Manager.
Model villages have been designated in the following districts of the State. Thiphireddyhalli in Dharmapuri, Punnam in Erode, Sevaikarapatti in Thirunelveli, Nallur in Tuticorin, Andarkulam in Kanyakumari, Thangamalpuram in Theni, Sorakolathur in Thiruvannamalai and Vadagudi in Nagapattinam.
Earlier, as part of its platinum jubilee celebrations, the RBI organised an ‘outreach component’ that focused on financial literacy in 16 under banked districts of the State. Financial literacy entailed information dissemination on bankable schemes, savings accounts, loan repayment etc to target groups of Self-Help Groups, students, teachers, farmers clubs and ex-convicts, fisherfolk and transgenders.
