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Journalism of Courage
The government today said that banking services would be rolled out in 20,000 villages this fiscal,while cautioning the banks against selecting wrong entities as their business correspondents.
For the year 2010-11,we have set a target of rollout in 20,000 villages. I am confident that this target will be achieved, finance minister Pranab Mukherjee said while launching Swabhimaan,a financial inclusion campaign of the UPA government.
He said business correspondents (BCs) are the face of the banks and the success of financial inclusion programme will depend on their proper utilisation. BCs are persons engaged by banks to create a closer relationship between the formal financial system and the people living in the rural hinterland.
They should be conscious of reputational risks that could arise if the wrong kind of BCs,or those who are providing technology as backup,are selected, he added.
The government has targeted to cover at least 73,000 new habitations with a population of 2,000 and above and open at least 5 crore new account by March,2012 under the campaign. He also said the agriculture sector is poised to grow at 5.4 per cent in the current fiscal.
