Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday said that people in India had a propensity towards saving, but this was targeted towards gold, therefore the challenge for banks is to assure people that a bank account would ensure easy access to their savings whenever required. He said if banks were able to do so, they could emerge as agents of social transformation.
Modi, who was speaking on the occasion of the dedication of ICICI's Digital Village to the nation, said that banks in India should actually compete for achieving maximum cashless transactions, as this would be the best solution to the problem of black money. He also called upon banks to create one lakh "Swachhta Entrepreneurs" within a year, to make the "Swachh Bharat" campaign a sustainable reality.
The Prime Minister spoke of Akodara Village in Gujarat's Sabarkantha district, chosen by ICICI Bank as a digital village. He said Akodara had a cattle hostel, which had contributed immensely to improving incomes and cleanliness in the village. More such villages across India would adopt this model soon, he added. Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, who was also present, on the occasion, said that India would match Chinese growth rate once the unbanked population comes under structured financial system.