On the occasion of the Nabard Foundation Day on July 12, its regional office here released an Odia film titled Sambhav. Chief Secretary JK Mohapatra unveiled it at a function here.
The film, produced by Nabard, is directed by Birendra Das. The duration of the film is one hour. Scripted in Odia, the film has English subtitles. It is proposed to be shown to the public in villages and remote areas of the State to spread the message of financial planning and savings. It is hoped that the film would encourage people to take advantage of the formal banking channels and various schemes of the Government and banks.
The film is about Radha, a poor, but intelligent village girl, who is deep in debt with the village Mahajan charging her with high rate of interest. Her brother, who migrated in search of livelihood, sends her some money which is lost in transit. Jaga, a youth of the same village and educated in a city returns without a job in hand. Jaga's family is also laden with debt with the village Mahajan. Jaga gets a job as Business Correspondent, a representative of the bank in the village.
He helps the villagers in opening a bank account, crediting their savings into their account, getting a debit card, processing of loans, receipt of remittance, guiding people on financial planning and loan management.
With the support of the bank and the Business Correspondent, Radha and her brother not only repay the debts of the Mahajan but also become financially independent. The village Mahajan, who has invested his money in a rogue chit fund company, loses all his money when the company closes down.
Financial literacy is a pre requisite for inclusive growth for which the Government of India, the Reserve Bank of India and the Nabard accord the highest priority. The banking system in the State needs to be geared up for including a large segment of the rural population, hitherto, excluded from the services of formal banking system. The Nabard has been playing an active role in promoting financial literacy in the rural areas in the form of publicity materials, wall paintings, folk lore, initiatives through print and electronic media, and with support of NGOs, etc.