After ‘Cashless Jharkhand’ Campaign was launched last week by CM Raghubar Das from Nagri, every other bank has been trying its best to support the ambitious programme in every possible way. At the same time, bankers believe that if this programme of the State government lags behind in comparison to other states ever, the only reason would be poor Internet seed and availability.
“Jharkhand remains one of the poorest states in terms of Internet speed and availability. We find at least 10 per cent of our bank branches not working properly everyday due to poorest of the poor internet links in rural areas. Until and unless this situation is improved, we can’t imagine a cashless Jharkhand,” said GM of public sector bank Allahabad Bank SK Singh on Wednesday.
Unfortunately, the case doesn’t remain confined to be called an issue with Allahabad Bank alone. Almost all the banks have been facing similar problem. UCO Bank Zonal Manager RB Sahay went to the extent of claiming that government’s ambition was destined to remain restricted, courtesy negligence and lethargies at mid-level officials.
“Bharat Sanchar Nigam limited (BSNl) is one of the key Internet providers across the State, even in terms of mobile Internet. I have attended dozens of State level Bankers Committee (SlBC) meetings. Ironically, I have not seen any senior level BSNl official in any of the meeting I have attended. There is always one official who might be ignorable in organizational hierarchy at BSNl. This is the approach of those who play one of the most significant roles in taking government’s plan forward,” said Sahay.
Taking forward his argument Sahay said, “Though not the only one, but Reliance Jio proved it beyond doubt how data-hungry Indian youth is, if the data rides on the speed. People are ready to do what you say if it is convenient. But poor Internet speed or even no Internet in some parts of the State can’t make the dream of Cashless Jharkhand true ever.”
Internet remains a vital issue, because all the mobile wallets and shopping applications of banks remain available on Google Play Store, iOS and other mobile operating platforms to be downloaded to customer’s mobile phone only when there is internet connectivity to the mobile phone. Yet again, internet mobile data comes with a monthly cap of uses, which means customers need to pay for it.Even Information Technology Director of the State Umesh Prasad Sah admitted that Internet speed and reach remained an issue to deal with as soon as possible. “Yes, it is a problem and we are trying our best to get out of it. We are largely dependent on BSNl so far for obvious reasons. However, we are taking all measures to strengthen internet speed in the State, and improvement would start appearing soon,” claimed Sah.At the same time, Punjab National Bank DGM PK Pradhan claimed that though Internet speed was an issue, it was not going to remain an issue for long. “We have moved beyond 2G and 3G era. Every other mobile company is coming with 4G data plans. At the same time, e-wallets like paytm are also coming with offline transaction facility and soon banks will also have offline transaction facilities through basic feature phones. But yes, as of now, we are facing challenges in terms of internet connectivity,” said Pradhan.