The Governor of the Reserve Bank of India, Dr Subbarao, and the Deputy Governor, Dr K.C. Chakraborty, held a meeting with top bankers in the State to review the pace of financial inclusion implementation in Karnataka.

According to a top official of a Bangalore-based public sector bank, the RBI Governor emphasised on the need for training the business correspondents (BCs) who are appointed for reaching out to the hitherto unbanked segment.

The official said that the Governor also stressed on the importance of credit linkage to these no-frill account holders.

Credit level

Currently, banks in the State offer an overdraft facility of Rs 500/account and also Rs 25,000-50,000 credit for every general credit card (GCC) or kisan credit card (KCC) depending on the account-holder's level of activity. “By and large, all banks are moving on the same lines, and the Governor was happy with the pace of implementation,” the bank official said.

Concept paper

Under the financial inclusion initiative, banks have to provide services through an outlet in every village having a population of over 2,000 by March 2011. This will be done through brick and mortar branches and BCs with the help of technology. Bankers of Karnataka along with the Reserve Bank of India developed a concept paper on ‘meaningful and holistic financial inclusion' in May 2011, which was also reviewed at the meeting on Tuesday.

Related Topics