Pranab lists four specific areas of participation.
— Ramesh Sharma
— Ramesh Sharma
The Finance Minister, Mr. Pranab Mukherjee, with the Minister for Commerce and Industry, Mr. Anand Sharma at a conference on 'India-US : An agenda for Co-Creation', in the Capital on Monday.
Our Bureau
New Delhi, Nov.8
The Government on Monday asked US companies to take part in India's financial inclusion programme in a bid to not only bring more people into the banking network but also ensure that the fast growth of the economy is inclusive and sustainable.
“There are several areas where US companies can play a role in delivering Financial Inclusion,” the Finance Minister, Mr Pranab Mukherjee, said, addressing business leaders from India and America at a conference organised by the CII on “India-US: An Agenda for Co-Creation” as part of the US President, Mr Barack Obama's visit.
Mr Mukherjee outlined four specific areas where American companies can participate in the financial inclusion process.
The first is in innovating and design of physical products such as the various devices and instruments.
“We require products that meet the specific requirement of rural areas and are able to run in an energy-efficient manner. They need to be portable and easy to use,” Mr Mukherjee said.
Second, the Minister said, innovation is required in design of software to run these devices and enable seamless connectivity, customer friendly software and privacy protection measures.
“Cyber crimes, misuse of customer information and identity theft need to be prevented through available and affordable software,” he said.
Third, US companies can also design financial products and services that are relevant to the poor, the Minister said. “Such products and services need to be simple, efficient and easily usable,” he said.
The other aspect that the US companies can focus on is training and capacity building as it will be a formidable exercise, going forward, Mr Mukherjee said.
“Banking correspondents need to be fully aware of their role and be able to provide a reliable and trustworthy service in order that financial inclusion objectives can be achieved through them,” he said.
The Minister said financial inclusion can unlock the vast hidden potential of savings, consumption and investment propensities of the poorer sections of the society.
“It is necessary to connect the banked and unbanked sectors and enable the unbanked to become vibrant and productive participants in the economic growth process,” he said.
Financial inclusion fund
Mr Mukherjee said the Government has accorded high importance to financial inclusion, which includes the entire gamut of financial services pertaining to savings, credit, insurance and transfers.
fund
He said the Government has set up a Financial Inclusion Fund to assist in promotion and development, apart from the Financial Inclusion Technology Fund to encourage the use of innovative technology in this area.
According to the RBI, of the 600,000 habitations in the country, only about 30,000 have a commercial bank branch.
Just about 40 per cent of the population across the country have bank accounts, and this ratio is much lower in the north-east of the country, the RBI Governor, Dr D Subbarao, had said earlier this year.
“The proportion of people having any kind of life insurance cover is as low as 10 per cent and proportion having non-life insurance is an abysmally low 0.6 per cent. People having debit cards comprise only 13 per cent and those having credit cards only a marginal 2 per cent. The National Sample Survey data reveals that, in 2003, out of the 89.3 million farmer households in the country, 51 per cent did not seek credit from either institutional or non-institutional sources of any kind,” he had said.
Mr Mukherjee has said in his 2010-11 Budget speech that the Government has decided to provide appropriate Banking facilities to habitations having population in excess of 2,000 by March, 2012. The Government also proposed to extend insurance and other services to the targeted beneficiaries. “These services will be provided using the Business Correspondent and other models with appropriate technology back-up. By this arrangement, it is proposed to cover 60,000 habitations,” Mr Mukherjee had said.
arun.s@thehindu.co.in
Our Bureau
New Delhi, Nov.8
The Government on Monday asked US companies to take part in India's financial inclusion programme in a bid to not only bring more people into the banking network but also ensure that the fast growth of the economy is inclusive and sustainable.
“There are several areas where US companies can play a role in delivering Financial Inclusion,” the Finance Minister, Mr Pranab Mukherjee, said, addressing business leaders from India and America at a conference organised by the CII on “India-US: An Agenda for Co-Creation” as part of the US President, Mr Barack Obama's visit.
Mr Mukherjee outlined four specific areas where American companies can participate in the financial inclusion process.
The first is in innovating and design of physical products such as the various devices and instruments.
“We require products that meet the specific requirement of rural areas and are able to run in an energy-efficient manner. They need to be portable and easy to use,” Mr Mukherjee said.
Second, the Minister said, innovation is required in design of software to run these devices and enable seamless connectivity, customer friendly software and privacy protection measures.
“Cyber crimes, misuse of customer information and identity theft need to be prevented through available and affordable software,” he said.
Third, US companies can also design financial products and services that are relevant to the poor, the Minister said. “Such products and services need to be simple, efficient and easily usable,” he said.
The other aspect that the US companies can focus on is training and capacity building as it will be a formidable exercise, going forward, Mr Mukherjee said.
“Banking correspondents need to be fully aware of their role and be able to provide a reliable and trustworthy service in order that financial inclusion objectives can be achieved through them,” he said.
The Minister said financial inclusion can unlock the vast hidden potential of savings, consumption and investment propensities of the poorer sections of the society.
“It is necessary to connect the banked and unbanked sectors and enable the unbanked to become vibrant and productive participants in the economic growth process,” he said.
Financial inclusion fund
Mr Mukherjee said the Government has accorded high importance to financial inclusion, which includes the entire gamut of financial services pertaining to savings, credit, insurance and transfers.
fund
He said the Government has set up a Financial Inclusion Fund to assist in promotion and development, apart from the Financial Inclusion Technology Fund to encourage the use of innovative technology in this area.
According to the RBI, of the 600,000 habitations in the country, only about 30,000 have a commercial bank branch.
Just about 40 per cent of the population across the country have bank accounts, and this ratio is much lower in the north-east of the country, the RBI Governor, Dr D Subbarao, had said earlier this year.
“The proportion of people having any kind of life insurance cover is as low as 10 per cent and proportion having non-life insurance is an abysmally low 0.6 per cent. People having debit cards comprise only 13 per cent and those having credit cards only a marginal 2 per cent. The National Sample Survey data reveals that, in 2003, out of the 89.3 million farmer households in the country, 51 per cent did not seek credit from either institutional or non-institutional sources of any kind,” he had said.
Mr Mukherjee has said in his 2010-11 Budget speech that the Government has decided to provide appropriate Banking facilities to habitations having population in excess of 2,000 by March, 2012. The Government also proposed to extend insurance and other services to the targeted beneficiaries. “These services will be provided using the Business Correspondent and other models with appropriate technology back-up. By this arrangement, it is proposed to cover 60,000 habitations,” Mr Mukherjee had said.
arun.s@thehindu.co.in
