New Delhi (20.01.2023): In view of 2023 General Budget, the last full budget before 2024 Lok Sabha elections, the entire government machinery has been rolled on. Taking that forward, Dr Vivek Joshi, Secretary (IAS:1989:HY), Department of Financial Services (DFS), Ministry of Finance, chaired a full-day review meeting of heads of Public Sector Banks (PSBs) and financial institutions on January 19, 2023. Issues discussed during the meeting included:
There was a marathon review of various “social security (Jan Suraksha) schemes” including 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 etc.
PSBs were exhorted to achieve targets allocated to them under the schemes for FY 2022-23. Banks were asked to organize financial literacy camps so that awareness about various financial inclusion schemes including micro-insurance schemes, and digital financial transactions including UPI Lite can be promoted.
Ease of access to banking services was among key issues that have 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-out efforts to make the customer experience more enriching and pleasant for sustainable banking relationships.
KEY HIGHLIGHTS:
- Indian Banks’ Association (IBA) has been requested to expedite the Consumer Service Rating for all Scheduled Commercial Banks to gauge consumer expectation and to enable banks to raise their standards of services.
- 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 discussed.
- PSBs were also requested to take the help of the 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.
- The digitization process for getting KCC was also discussed to improve transparency. PSBs were advised to take necessary steps to digitize entire journey of KCC loans in a timebound manner.
- The digitization of the 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.
