Hyderabad: Indian Banking industry needs at least 12 lakh business correspondents to work in rural areas to bring six lakh villages of the country into banking arena, Krishna Mohan, Regional Director, Reserve bank of India said here on Monday.
Presently there are in all 76,000 branches of scheduled banks in the country which can cater to only six per cent of the total villages, Krishna Mohan said while inaugurating a seminar on macro impact of micro finance organised by Andhra Pradesh State Co-op Urban Banks Federation.
He said only 12 per cent of total population of the country can avail of bank loans. There are only nine branches available to one lakh population. He observed that the mobile banking offered by various
mobile phone operators could bridge the gap between people and
banking industry.
Business Correspondents act as an intermediary for banks
and performs functions of a bank in an area where the bank
does not have a presence. The RBI had recently relaxed norms
for appointment of business correspondents.
Bureau Report
First Published: Monday, November 16, 2009, 23:49