The Rural Development and Panchayat Raj Department will meet representatives of public sector banks on Friday to enlist their support in disbursing wages directly to labourers in rural areas and self-help groups through banking correspondents (BCs.)
T.M. Vijay Bhaskar, Additional Chief Secretary, RDPR, told The Hindu that the talks were an extension of State Bank of India’s offer to provide payment services for free at workers’ doorstep under the National Rural Livelihoods Mission. The meeting on Friday would decide how many banks would join in the effort with their own BCs — informal bank-authorised individuals, grocers, pharmacists or small vendors — who take banking to the rural poor with smart cards and handheld devices. The outcome could help 15 lakh poor rural households get wages at their doorstep and over six lakh SHGs to deposit their interest subsidy money under Sanjeevini. “The SBI has promised to enlist its estimated 3,000 BCs [for the RDPR’s work.] with smart cards. We asked other banks also to do for free,” Mr. Bhaskar said.
Earlier, at a multi-city conclave on financial inclusion organised by Dun & Bradstreet, Mr. Bhaskar said this year, the State would handle an amount of Rs. 3,100 crore under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act. The State discontinued disbursing wages through rural post offices two years ago and opted for bank transfers. Yet, “last-mile” payment to workers was a major issue as many poor people did not have bank accounts or access to them. Other agencies expected a fee for reaching the workers.
“We have been exploring cheaper options and recently invited expressions of interest from financial service providers,” he said.
‘Post offices can play role’M.S. Ramanujan, Chief Postmaster General, Karnataka Circle, said post offices, with their large rural presence and postal staff, could play an important role in the government’s plan to reach safe banking services to the poor. A large number of the population was “unbanked”. With 300 million postal accounts across 1.4 lakh post offices, India Post was also modernising and had all the ingredients to formally become a payment bank if the Reserve Bank gave it licence.
The mission for financial inclusion had room and opportunity for all players and should be seen as much more than a social obligation, he added.
