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| RBI Governor bets big on financial inclusion
Bangalore: The Reserve Bank of India plans to take up all villages with population of about 2,000 under the financial inclusion programme.
Speaking at the outreach programme conducted by the Reserve Bank of India and the Karnataka Government at Doddabelavangala near Bangalore on Tuesday, Dr D. Subbarao, RBI Governor, said, "Financial inclusion has played a very important role in our economic growth story - more important than what we have acknowledged so far."
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"Financial inclusion for all (including farmers) and broadening financial literacy are what we should look out for," said Dr Subbarao. Financial inclusion was not just about opening no-frill accounts; "we want them to be operational", he added.
He said that Karnataka was the first State where the RBI's financial literacy programme will be run on a pilot basis.
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"Though (the) Karnataka Government has said that it has 100 per cent inclusion, it may not reflect the ground reality. Therefore, we have urged the Government to take up all villages with 2,000 people to be covered under the financial inclusion programme extensively. There is a huge ground to be covered," said Dr Subbarao.
One of RBI's important tasks ahead is to cover all farmers with credit.
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"Out of 80 lakh farmer households in the State, only 15 lakh have the Kisan Credit Card," he said. Stating that there was a need to provide all services through the kisan credit card, Dr Subbarao said, "Our suggestion is to take pilot blocks, pilot villages and cover them extensively with agricultural credit, and spread the experience to other places."
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