SBI to introduce 600 Financial Inclusion Centres

The banks in India are working at full pace to successfully implement the Financial Inclusion Plan. In a similar effort the largest bank of the country , State Bank of India has announced to set up 600 Financial Inclusion Centers through out the country.

The motive behind the move is to provide back end support to the Business Correspondents working in the villages and also to exercise administrative control over them. The bank has set up the FIC to provide banking facilities to the 12,421 unbanked villages out of 72,315 villages having a population of more than 2,000 by March 2012.

The FIC will provide back end support to the Business Correspondents on the opening of no frills accounts and will also keep a constant watch on the performance of the BC. Such a practice will surely enhance the efficiency of the Business Correspondents.

Deputy General Manager of SBI Mr M I Dholakia said “Under the financial inclusion plan, our bank is currently providing basic banking services in 1,300 villages. This number will jump to 5,300 by March-end 2011. We will complete the target of providing banking outreach in 12,421 villages by March-end 2012”.

The entities that can work as business correspondents includes include NGOs/ MFIs set up under Societies/ Trust Acts, Post Offices, retired bank employees, ex-servicemen, retired teachers, retired government employees, individual kirana/ medical/ fair price shop owners.

The Financial Inclusion Plan is a very ambitious project lead by the Reserve Bank of India. This project will definitely bring a change in the life of the poor people who reside in the rural India and will definitely make a major contribution in the development of the country.