Odisha moots mobile banks for un-banked areas

Currently, Odisha State Co-operative Bank providing banking services through 20 vans

In a first of its kind initiative in the country, the Odisha government plans to team up with the banks having operations in the state to roll out about 100 mobile vans in 2016-17 to provide banking services in the un-banked gram panchayats.

The state government is considering to provide subsidy to banks to provide banking services on wheels in the un-banked panchayats, however the modalities are yet to be finalised.

“The discussions are in nascent stage. The state finance department will approach the department of financial services under the Ministry of Finance to decide the cost sharing pattern in consultation with the respective chairmen of the banks”, said an official privy to development.

Presently, Odisha State Co-operative Bank is providing banking services through 20 vans. Similarly, the public sector UCO bank and private lender ICICI bank are providing banking services on wheels with two vans each, from their own coffers.

The capital cost per van is pegged at Rs 30 lakh annually while the operation expenditure is estimated at Rs 12 lakh per year for each van.

“ Weekly six gram panchayats can be covered. As per discussion, the focus will be the haats ( market area). The vehicles are planned to provide ATM services and facilitate withdrawals, deposits and remittances”, the official added. The Odisha government will map the daily and weekly haats after which a route map will be finalized.

The Odisha government has recently come out with a scheme of extending financial support for three phase power supply to tempt commercial banks to open new branches in the unbanked gram panchayats. A sum of Rs 2.5 crore has been provided in the state budget for 2016-17 for power supply to new bank branches in the un-banked panchayats. Besides, the state government has assured the banks to provide space at Rajiv Gandhi Seva Kendras in rural areas free of cost for five years.

It has also decided to support the banks for opening of new branches in the un-banked gram panchayats in backward and LWE (Left Wing Extremism) affected districts -Malkangiri, Nuapada, Nabarangpur and Kandhamal. The government will bear the cost of V-SAT connectivity for opening of first 15 bank branches in each of the four districts.