Lok Sabha

Raghuram Rajan Committee Report had observed that over 40 per cent of India's working population earn but have no savings. Some of the major recommendations of the committee include:

i. expanding access to financial services;

ii. freedom to banks to setup branches and ATMs;

iii. creating more efficient and liquid markets;

iv. greater participation of foreign investors in domestic market;

iv. creating a growth-friendly regulatory environment; and

v. creating a robust infrastructure for credit.

The Government of India has taken the following steps to ensure opening of more bank accounts, especially in the rural areas of the country including Andhra Pradesh:

• Banks, have been advised to make available a basic banking 'ïî frills' account either with 'nil' or very low minimum balances.

• Small borrowers with loans settled under the one time settlement scheme have been made eligible to access fresh credit.

• Banks have been advised to issue General Credit Cards to eligible beneficiaries without insistence on security, purpose or end use of credit.

• Banks have been permitted to utilise the services of Non-Governmental Organisations, Self Help Groups, Micro Finance Institutions and other Civil Society Organisation as intermediaries in providing financial and banking services.

• All Scheduled Commercial Banks and Regional Rural Banks have been advised to achieve the target of adding 250 rural household accounts during this year. Most of the Public Sector Banks have achieved their targets for the year 2008-09.

This information was given by Minister of State for Finance, Shri Pawan Kumar Bansal in reply to a question raised by Shri K.J.S.P. Reddy and Shri Abdullakutty in Lok Sabha today.

Financial inclusion: expand no-frills bank accounts and credit access using intermediaries to reach rural households. Government measures to expand basic banking and credit in rural areas require banks to offer no-frills basic accounts with nil or low minimum balances and to issue General Credit Cards without security or end-use conditions. Small borrowers settled under one-time settlement schemes are eligible for fresh credit. Banks may use NGOs, self-help groups, microfinance institutions and other civil society organisations as intermediaries to provide financial services. Scheduled Commercial Banks and Regional Rural Banks were advised to add rural household accounts during the year, and public sector banks largely achieved their targets.