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Imkong L Imchen[/caption]
Our Correspondent
Kohima, Oct. 17 (EMN): Minister for Health and Family Welfare, Imkong L Imchen on Tuesday said people in rural areas of Nagaland are deprived of coverage under social security schemes and are denied access to institutional finance due to absence of banking network.
Speaking at the launching of state level financial inclusion camp-cum-Micro Units Development and Refinance Agency (MUDRA) promotion campaign at the Capital Convention Centre in Kohima, the minister stated that the central government may roll out noble financial inclusion schemes to help the needy, but such schemes have to be implemented and made available to the people by banks. Towards this, he underscored the need for banks operating in the state to set up branches so as to bring the poor people in rural areas under the coverage of various financial inclusion schemes.Imchen asserted that the introduction of the Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY) along with its package of social security schemes in the form of Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana (PMSBY), Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana (PMJJBY), and Atal Pension Yojana (APY) has been a milestone in the direction of providing genuine financial security to the citizens.
Quoting available figures, the minister said enrolment under the three major social security schemes in Nagaland stood at 65830 under PMSBY, 33830 under PMJJBY and 1850 under APY. While acknowledging the efforts made by banks in bringing the people under enrolment of the three schemes, he said the ‘actual figure falls below desirable level’ and called upon banks operating in the state to work on a mission mode to bring all sections of the people under comprehensive coverage of the social security schemes.
He also mentioned that a total number of bank accounts opened under PMJDY census is 212765 but against the number of accounts, only 171775 mandatory Rupay debit cards are recorded to have been issued so far. He asked banks to expedite the issuance of the debit cards to the remaining account holders.
As for loans under various schemes, he said he was made to understand that 17825 MUDRA loans amounting to Rs.216.19 cr. and 89 Stand Up India loans amounting to Ras.29.24 cr. have been provided by banks as on Sept. 30 last. “I am inclined to believe that these loans have been primarily given to urban dwellers. My opinion is based on the fact that banking coverage in the rural area is alarmingly poor,” the minister stated.
He cited that out of 74 Blocks in the state, 30 still remain unbanked. “For the purpose of opening bank branches, the unbanked blocks have been allotted to banks on equitable basis, but despite lapse in time, banks are yet to establish the branches till date,” he pointed out. Imchen also remarked that under PMJDY, the state has been divided into 212 urban wards and 211 sub-service areas (rural), and while urban wards are fully covered, in the rural areas only 57 sub-service areas are covered by bank branches and 85 by banking correspondents, leaving 69 areas absolutely uncovered by any banking agency.
This statistics, he said, clearly indicate that people in rural areas are deprived of coverage under social security schemes. He maintained that for any special scheme planned by the Prime Minister to the uplift the poorer sections of the society, extensive coverage and information should be made available to the people, particularly the rural populace, so that the actual intention of the Prime Minister to help them is realized and they are able to avail the opportunity.
In his opening address, Chief Secretary Pankaj Kumar said the purpose of the programme was to sensitize the people and create awareness on the schemes of financial inclusion and reach out to maximum number of people. He highlighted that the MUDRA loan scheme is a three-tier loan structure to meet the financing needs of non-corporate small business units. The structure is targeted towards enterprises depending on the size and stage of the business, and under it, he informed, SHISHU loan offers financial support of up to Rs.50,000, KISHOR loan offers an amount of Rs.50,000 to 5 lac, and TARUN loan offers financial support from Rs.5 lac to Rs.10 lac.
During the programme, downloading of BHIM (Bharat Interface for Money) app and live demonstration of transactions was screened. BHIM is a mobile application developed by National Payment Corporation of India based on the unified payment interface, launched in December 2016 to facilitate e-payment directly through banks and drive towards cashless transactions.
Two MUDRA loan achievers from SBI and IDBI also shared their success stories with the gathering. Following the inaugural programme, a day-long promotional campaign was carried out in stalls set up at the same venue by various banks.
