Excelsior Correspondent
SRINAGAR, July 18 : As part of its financial inclusion and awareness drive Reserve Bank of India (RBI), Jammu organized an outreach programme at village Theeru in district Ganderbal today.
The programme was presided over by K.K. Saraf, Regional Director, Reserve Bank of India, Jammu. Among the participants were the chief guest, Showkat Ahmad Mir, (DC), guest of honour Rajeshwar Rao, Banking Ombudsman, Reserve Bank of India, New Delhi, and G M Sahibzada, Executive President, J&K Bank.
While addressing the gathering, the Regional Director mentioned that during the ‘Platinum Jubilee Year’ (2009-10) of establishment of RBI, it was decided to reach out to the remotest villages of the country for extending banking services so that the common man is linked to the banks through Information and communication technology initiatives without actually having to visit a bank branch.
It was informed that Theeru village was one of the villages chosen by RBI for outreach activities in the State for 100% Financial Inclusion with the support of J&K Bank by using information and communication technology for issuance of smart cards through the Business Correspondent (BC) model. The main aim was to achieve the objective of financial inclusion and providing doorstep banking services to the rural poor, small and marginal farmers, people of small means, women, etc. It was also explained to the gathering that the biometric smart cards have inbuilt security features and are therefore very safe for conducting transactions. On the occasion smart cards and Kissan Credit Cards were issued to the villagers by J & K Bank.
The audience was familiarized with the history and functions of Reserve Bank of India through a film show. Films on features of genuine bank notes and on the functioning of the Banking Ombudsman were also shown for the benefit of the public. With the help of J & K Bank, a counter for exchange of soiled and mutilated notes and issuance of fresh notes and coins was set up at the venue which attracted crowd.
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