In an effort to provide doorstep banking in rural and unbanked areas, the State Government is going to introduce mobile baking services in 20 blocks in 10 tribal districts in the current financial year.
The project, which would be implemented on a pilot basis at a cost of Rs6 crore under the Rashtriya Krishi Vikash Yojna (RKVY), would be the first of its kind in the country in the cooperative sector, official sources said on Tuesday.
Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik has approved the project, after which Commissioner-cum-Secretary of Cooperation Department Bishnupada Sethi has initiated action in implementing it through the Odisha State Cooperative Bank (OSCB).
The new banking system, which would facilitate ATM service, account opening and the Centrally-proposed Direct Cash Transfer to subsidised gas users and payment to beneficiaries under the MGNREGS, would be under the direct control of the Cooperation Department to be operated by the OSCB via the Central Cooperative Banks. About four lakh agricultural families are expected to benefit from this banking system.
Notably, there are 2714 Primary Agricultural Cooperative Societies (PACSs) functioning at the grassroots level in the State for providing agricultural inputs and services to the member-farmers. They command 67 per cent of the total dispensation of Short Term Agricultural Credit (Short Term Seasonal Agricultural operation, ST (SAO) through 17 Central Cooperative Banks.
The farmers in remote and unbanked areas face a lot of problems in availing of banking service when they have to trek miles just either to deposit their money or withdraw the sanctioned loan amount. At present, the Central Cooperative Banks do not have branches in 72 out of the State’s total 314 blocks, mostly in tribals-dominated districts.
The mobile banking scheme would enable farmers to draw from their loan accounts or deposit their surplus amounts in their accounts at a specific place in their village on a scheduled date when the mobile vans would be stationed.
Notably, SBI and BOI are the pioneers in mobile banking in the country in the non-cooperative sector. The proposal of mobile banking envisages providing financial assistance to the Central Cooperative Banks to ensure financial inclusion of the remote areas.
The project would have advantage of opening no frill accounts, acceptance of crop loan and agricultural term loan, acceptance of deposits, providing cash to the Kissan Credit Card holders at points of sale (PoS) through Smart Cards, payment of Government dues under the MNREGS to the beneficiaries of various schemes, payment of scholarships to the children of Kissan Credit Card holders.
Besides, this system would facilitate disbursement of old age pension, collection of demand drafts and cheques on behalf of farming families, all other payments of the Government like compensation on natural calamities to the farmers and mobile ATM facilities to the agricultural families in the blocks earmarked for this project.
The mobile vans would have a small counter and one ATM facility under the project, which would be implemented by six Central Cooperative Banks, said the sources.