Union Finance Ministry to launch a special financial inclusion drive from 15 October

Tags: Economy/Finance

The Union Finance ministry has announced a special campaign to further deepen the Financial Inclusion (FI) framework by completing the task of providing bank accounts to unbanked, providing loans for putting up cold chain infrastructure and expanding the coverage and penetration of Mudra and KCC to newer segments. The campaign will be from 15 October to 26 November 2022.

Focus on seven district 

According to the ministry , the campaign will be  initially be rolled out at the gram panchayat level in seven districts across India including Cuttack (Odisha), Aurangabad and Pune (Maharashtra), Kakinada (AP), Kaushambi (UP), Datia (MP), Barpeta (Assam).

Main focus of the special campaign 

The main focus of the special campaign will be ;

• achieve targets in respect of opening  bank accounts, insurance/pension schemes for eligible individuals,
• distribution of loans to Farmer Produce Organizations (FPOs), Self Help Group (SHG) for establishment of Cold-Chain infrastructure,
• expanding the coverage of MUDRA & Kisan Credit Cards penetration for persons engaged in animal husbandry, dairy & fisheries,
• bringing SHG members within the ambit of the Financial Inclusion ecosystem of the country,
• Linking of existing bank accounts with Aadhaar and mobile number of the existing accounts with special focus on making BSBDA (Basic Saving Bank Deposit Account) Small account into a normal account by doing full KYC (Know Your Customer).

Financial Inclusion 

Financial inclusion refers to the inclusion of the unbanked population of the country under the formal credit system. It simply means that banks shall be present in every area of the country so that people can open accounts with the bank and have access to cheap credit and other financial services.

The National Strategy for Financial Inclusion 2019-24 has set certain targets. They are as follows;

•  Providing banking access to every village within a 5 km radius and in the hilly areas banking access is to be provided in an area having 500 households.
• The milestone has been fully achieved in 25 states and 7 UTs as on March 31, 2022 and 99.94 percent of the identified villages/hamlets across the country have been covered. Efforts are on to achieve the target for the remaining villages/ hamlets.
• Opening of BSBD accounts with overdraft facility up to Rs 5000.
• Providing insurance, pension facilities to the account holders.