Dept of financial services' secretary reviews progress of social security schemes with public sector banks
Jan 19, 2023
New Delhi [India], January 19 : Vivek Joshi, Department of Financial Services under the finance ministry, reviewed the progress of various social security (Jan Suraksha) schemes with heads of public sector banks (PSBs) and financial institutions on Thursday.
Some of these schemes include Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY), Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana (PMJJBY), Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana (PMSBY), Atal Pension Yojana (APY), Pradhan Mantri MUDRA and Prime Minister Street Vendor's AtmaNirbhar Nidhi (PMSVANidhi), and Agri credit, among others.
Besides reviewing the progress under the social security schemes promoting financial inclusion, public sector banks were exhorted to achieve the targets allocated to them under the schemes for the 2022-23, according to a statement from the ministry of finance. It was also discussed that banks should organise financial literacy camps so that awareness about various financial inclusion schemes, including micro insurance schemes, digital financial transactions including UPI Lite can be further promoted.
According to the ministry statement, it was appreciated that ease of access to banking services has been strengthened in the last 7-8 years and now having provided access to banking services to the bottom of the pyramid, banks need to put in all efforts to make customer experience more enriching and pleasant for a sustainable banking relationship.
The finance ministry said Indian Banks' Association (IBA) has already been requested to expedite the consumer service rating for all scheduled commercial banks to gauge the consumer expectation and to enable banks to raise their standards of services delivery to every segment of the customer.
The amendments proposed in the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC) with regard to reducing the delays in the processes relating to admission, resolution, National Company Law Tribunal's (NCLT) approval and liquidation were also discussed in presence of officials from Ministry of Corporate Affairs and Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India (IBBI).
PSBs were also requested to take help of PM KISAN database with an aim to provide Kisan Credit Card (KCC) facility to all the farmers in the country. The progress of the Agriculture Infrastructure Fund (AIF) scheme was also reviewed. Officials from the department of agriculture and farmers' welfare were also present in the review related to agricultural credit.
The progress in digitisation of the process for getting the KCC was also discussed to improve transparency. PSBs were advised to take necessary steps to digitise entire journey of KCC loans in a time-bound manner. The digitisation of KCC-Modified Interest Subvention Scheme (MISS) was also discussed and banks were told to start using the portal for their claims from FY 2021-22 onwards.
