PUDUCHERRY: “We are far behind achieving the target for the financial inclusion plan,” said Subir Gokarn, Deputy Governor, Reserve Bank of India, during the Indian Bank Financial Inclusion Project achievement function at the Mangalam village in Puducherry, which recorded a 100 per cent success rate-- meaning every villager now possessed a bank account.
“According to the financial inclusion plan, the target was that every villager should have a bank account. However, for long, we had been lagging behind because of the absence of technology but now with examples set by banks such as Indian Bank, which has made available newer banking technologies, all that will soon disappear. Through this breakthrough in technology, people no longer have to come to banks as bank services are being made available at their door step,” said Subir Gokran.
Gokran added that with such technologies and with good response from the people and the banks, the target for achieving 100 per cent financial inclusion will be met soon and praised Puducherry, as it was the first to achieve one hundred per cent inclusion of a village.
“Under the national pilot project in financial inclusion, with guidance from the Reserve Bank of India, initial steps were taken to launch the first project in Puducherry at the Mangalam village in December 2005. In Mangalam village, Indian Bank has covered 813 households by way of opening ‘no frill’ accounts total of 1661 fresh Saving Bank accounts were opened and general credit cards issued with a total credit overlay of Rs 5. 35 lakhs,” said T M Bhasin, Chairman and Managing Director, Indian Bank.
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