Over 21 lakh no-frills accounts opened in K'taka

Bangalore, Sep 25 (UNI) As many as 21.21 lakh 'no-frills accounts' have been opened in 11 districts of Karnataka under the first phase of cent per cent financial inclusion programme, FIN-INC, Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Regional Director Devaki Muthukrishnan said today.

Speaking at the state-level award distribution function for best performance under SHG-Bank linked and farmers' clubs programme, organised by NABARD here, she said that with the concerted effort of banks, Government departments and cooperative institutions, the first phase of FIN-INC had been completed. NABARD had played a pivotal role in achieving the feat, she added.

The official said courtesy to NABARD's sustained efforts and constant endeavour, integrated rural development had been ushered in, leading to equitable growth, diminished rural impoverishment, increased rural employment opportunities and a stronger rural economy.

Ms Muthukrishnan said ''the initiatives and schemes launched by NABARD have contributed in a large measure towards empowerment of womenfolk of our country, which in turn brought peace and prosperity in rural households.'' Due to the recent initiatives of the Union Government, the flow of credit to agriculture had increased and it also helped to improve its growth to a little over two per cent. ''To ensure sustainable overall growth in the country, it is critical to have inclusive growth,'' she said.

NABARD Chief General Manager Deepak B Gore, who also spoke on the occasion, said a strategy was evolved to focus on ensuring enough credit flow to SHGs to entertain entrepreneurship development among them. ''All the nationalised banks have also shown overwhelming response for NABARD's proposal as there is enough space for more service providers in the micro finance sector,'' he said.

UNI