ITANAGAR, 20 Jan: Officials of the Reserve Bank of India, the state registrar of cooperative societies, State Bank of India, Arunachal Pradesh Rural Bank, Arunachal Pradesh State Cooperative Apex Bank,and Airtel Payments Bank participated in a workshop organised by the NABARD on Monday to sensitise the bankers to various schemes under the financial inclusion fund (FIF).
During the workshop, which was chaired by NABARD GM D Mishra, discussions were held on exploring ways to promote financial inclusion in the state, taking into account the state’s diversity and the presence of numerous unbanked villages.
“Under the FIF, the NABARD undertakes various activities like financial literacy, capacity-building initiatives through differentiated banks and institutions, training of business correspondents of banks with the support of institutions like the Indian Institute of Banking and Finance, providing support to banks for setting up centres for financial literacy (CFL) and strengthening RSETIs,” it informed in a release.
“The NABARD has also supported banking technology adoption for rural financial institutions (RFI) in the state. The BC/CSP incentive scheme is one such scheme under the FIF, wherein bankers are encouraged to have more proposals to support BCs/CSPs operating in the state,” it said.
Mishra emphasised that “BCs operating at the grassroots level not only enable financial transactions but also play a crucial role in capacity building by spreading financial awareness among rural communities.” He highlighted the importance of ensuring the sustainability of the BC model in states like Arunachal Pradesh, where low population density poses challenges to the viability of BC operations. He called on the SLBC to “take a leading role in promoting the scheme throughout the state by organising workshops and meetings, as well as raising awareness among banking staff about the initiative.”
The NABARD’s initiatives in Arunachal ranges from financial assistance for creation of rural infrastructure and supplementing resources of banks to developmental interventions in the field of innovative farm projects, development of rural enterprises and livelihoods, micro-finance, and overall financial inclusion.
“Being the apex development bank of the country, the NABARD is collaborating with the state govt, banks, civil society organisations and other stakeholders in implementing projects for promotion of horticulture-based projects, springshed based watershed development projects, promotion of FPOs, conduct of skill development programmes, and in marketing of the products of farmers and rural artisans in Arunachal,” it said.
