NGOs, retired people to spread banking services in villages 

Agartala, Sep 5 : The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) will soon engage agents to provide banking services in villages, says RBI deputy governor Usha Thorat. 

"To act on behalf of the banks and to provide certain banking services among the uncovered people, non-government organisations, self-help groups, cooperatives, financial bodies, retired teachers and government employees and responsible citizens would soon be employed as banking correspondents or agents," Thorat said while addressing a seminar in Agartala late Friday.  

"This new model is expected to be an ideal for many northeastern states, where large parts of remote and rural areas are not covered by the traditional banking networks," she said.  

"The customers would be provided bio-metric cards and the banks, agents and customers would come under a single connectivity and remain online."  

She said this would bring banking services to the doorstep of people and also bring transparency in providing wages or allowances to eligible people under various government schemes and programmes.  

As part of its platinum jubilee celebrations, the RBI has been organising seminars, awareness campaigns and financial outreach camps across the country.  

Its deputy chief said this was to "maintain public confidence in the banking system, protect depositors' interest and provide cost-effective banking services to the public".

"A district consultative committee of banks led by concerned district commissioner or magistrate will draw up a road map to provide banking services, in any form, to every village in the country with a population of over 2,000, at least once a week on a regular basis by March 2011," she added.