BHUBANESWAR:Nabard on Sunday launched a massive financial literacy campaign covering all districts of the State.
The Financial Literacy and Awareness Programme (FLAP) intends to create awareness among the financially excluded people in villages and far flung areas on various social security schemes like the Prime Minister Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY), Prime Minister Surakhsa Bima Yojana (PMSBY), Prime Minister Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana (PMJJBY) and Atal Pension Yojana (APY).
The programme will strive to facilitate enrolment of target groups in the social security schemes in association with banks and other development organisations. Special focus would be on APY that assures old-age income security to people after cessation of active working life.
“The launch coincides with the 34th foundation day celebrations of Nabard. Literacy workshops are being held across all districts along with several other programmes involving the common populace to generate awareness and effect total financial inclusion, chief general manager (CGM), Odisha Regional office, SK Kale said.
Nabard has supported 3031 village-level, 551 block-level and 121 district-level awareness programmes. It has facilitated establishment of financial literacy centres (FLCs) for providing free financial literacy education and credit counselling to people.
“As on date, 105 FLCs have already been set up with 95 by 15 cooperative banks and 11 by two regional rural banks. About `10.20 crore has also been sanctioned for setting up multi-service centres in 70 primary agricultural credit societies in the State,” Kale said.
Speaking at a function to mark the Foundation Day, the CGM said the top priority for the bank in 2015-16 was on increasing ground-level disbursement of agricultural term loans, which constituted only 15 per cent of total agricultural loans last year.
Small farmers would be a priority for the bank this year and interventions would be directed at enabling them to adopt scientific methods for improving farm productivity and making resources available from formal credit sources.
Greater thrust would also be laid on improving storage infrastructure and setting up processing units to make farming sustainable and profitable for the rural people,” Kale emphasised.
Chief Secretary GC Pati called for steps for reducing inequality in farm and non-farm sector and ensure reach of banking services at the farthest mile in the State.