Govt to launch campaign to open workers` bank accounts today

Zee Media Bureau

New Delhi: Labour Ministry will launch a campaign in association with Department of Financial services to open bank accounts of workers, who do not have one till date, in the organised as well as unorganised sector on Saturday.

Starting from November 26, 2016, special camps will be organised in every district at specific locations to facilitate the opening of bank accounts.

Government has decided to pursue this path of digital transactions more vigorously than ever before.

"We have already sent communications to all the state governments in this respect requesting their active cooperation," Labour Minister Bandaru Dattatreya said in the statement.

The team comprising of District Magistrates, Lead District Manager of Bank and Labour Officers of both Centre as well as state governments would decide the modalities of the camps including the locations within their districts and coordination with the banking channels, he said.

Dattatreya has called upon all the establishments and people concerned to facilitate the access to these camps and avail of the services therein, it said.

The campaign will continue in the coming days through the banks concerned, their business correspondents and camps as required, it further said.

In order to facilitate financial inclusion and to ensure transparency in all financial transactions, the government launched its flagship scheme of Jan Dhan Yojna in September, 2014.

More than 25 crore bank accounts have been created since then across the country thereby linking the working class to the mainstream of financial /banking activities. The DBT (direct benefit transfer) through this banking network has benefited crores of poor citizens of the country.

With PTI Inputs