In an effort to make all the households bankable, the public sector Punjab National Bank (PNB) and Sambalpur based Bharat Integrated Social Welfare Agency (BISWA) have launched a technology based financial inclusion project in Orissa.
The first project was kicked off to a flying start last month at Daringibadi in Khandhamal district with the SHG groups promoted by BISWA using smart cards. The project will gradually cover the entire district of Kandhmal and will be extended to other districts later.
As over 60 to 70 percent households in Orissa do not have access to banks or any other financial schemes of the government, the joint initiative will be beneficial for the people living in the rural and tribal areas.
BISWA and PNB have resolved to play a key role through financial inclusion project to address the issue of communal conflicts in Khandhmal districts by engaging members of Self Help Groups (SHGs), farmers, small and micro entrepreneurs and artisans in economic activities in the coming months.
BISWA, since its inception in 1994, has been able to back up 35000 Women Self Help Groups (WSHGs) accounting for about 10-13 percent of total WSHGs. The non-governmental organisation (NGO) targets to form over one lakh SHGs by 2011 in the state. PNB plans to work on financial inclusion projects in 198 districts in the country and plans to cover 1, 00,000 villages, 15 million households and 75 million people by 2010.
