Even as the Centre has been pressing towards rapid financial inclusion and plans to cover 7.5 crore households across the country in its latest drive, there is no precise data available in Tamil Nadu on those who are yet to have bank accounts.
All banks in the State have commissioned a study to find out the number. The findings are expected to be ready by September-end, says S. Balachander, convener of the State Level Bankers’ Committee (SLBC).
He declined to come out with an estimated figure, but said a substantial number of people were on the banking network.
An official of the Finance Department says the government’s decision to pay the beneficiaries social security pensions through banks has led to the opening of a large number of bank accounts, including the poor. A recent document of the Revenue Department, charged with distributing social security pensions, states 9.95 lakh beneficiaries, accounting for 28 per cent of the total, have been brought under banks in the last three years. They all have accounts and biometric cards. Pension is credited to their bank accounts.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will launch the Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY), a programme for financial inclusion, in New Delhi on Thursday evening. Union Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad will inaugurate it in Chennai, and Minister of State for Heavy Industries & Public Enterprises Pon. Radhakrishnan in Madurai. Tamil Nadu Cooperation Minister Sellur K. Raju will also participate at the Madurai event. At an event in Coimbatore, Collector Archana Patnaik will commission the programme, says an official release.
On Tuesday, the State government issued an order, nominating the Mission Director of the National Rural Livelihood Mission, Mythili K.Rajendran, as the Mission Director for the PMJDY, too. The Principal Secretaries of the Revenue, Rural Development & Panchayat Raj, Municipal Administration & Water Supply (MAWS), and Cooperation, Food and Consumer Protection Departments have been nominated to the implementation committee.
Another release says the primary aim of the PMJDY is to bring the financially excluded people into the banking system by providing them with bank accounts and debit cards. The programme will cover both urban and rural areas. Every individual who opens an account will be eligible for an accident insurance cover of up to Rs. 1 lakh for his family.
