Cabinet has Approved INR 820 Crore For India Post Payment Bank

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By TBN Staff


The India Post Payments Bank or shortly known as the IPPB is a division of the Indian Post. It is an active body under the Ministry of Communications of the Indian Government. Just like all other banks, they provide users to opt for savings or current accounts. This particular bank is different from private banks as its facilities are implemented for fulfilling the social objectives of the Government. Amongst many benefits, of this bank, we have enlisted some here:

• The IPPB provides Banking at your convenience.
• You can get the privileges of instant and paperless A/C.
• The bank provides you with an interest rate of 4% on your savings.
• There is no compulsion for maintaining a monthly average balance.
• You will receive a free quarterly account statement.
• A mini statement will be sent to you through SMS.
• The entire Banking Service through QR cards is very simplified and easy to be understood by the customers.

The bank made its venture on September 1st, 2018. Its benefits can be reckoned with from the number of accounts it houses. The number of accounts crosses five crores across the country. The bank started with 650 branches across the country that acted as controlling offices. Over only four years, it has 1.36 lakh branches throughout the country in urban as well as rural areas. It has launched more than 5.25 crore accounts with 82 crore aggregate number of financial transactions of about Rs.1,61,811 crore. These transactions include 765 lakh AePS transactions which are worth Rs.21,343 crore. The most noteworthy feature is that out of the 5 crore accounts across the country, there is a dominant number of accounts in the rural areas. 77% of accounts are concentrated in rural areas. The reliability of the services can be estimated from the account holders including 48% of women customers with around Rs.1000 crore of deposit.

Approximately, 40 lakh women customers received Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) into their accounts, and these transfers are valued at about Rs.2500 crore. IPPB also provides beneficiary services to school students. Greater than 7.8 lakh accounts have been opened in the bank for school students of the country. It naturally attracts the youth to avail of its banking services. A survey had shown that individuals within the age group of 18-35 years comprise over 41% of the total number of account holders. The establishment of the bank has also led to the economic growth of the country. It has recruited people from different sectors and has provided for their financial needs. IPPB has opened 1.36 lakh Post Offices to provide banking services that require sufficient manpower. The bank has equipped over 1.89 lakh Postmen or Gramin Dak Sevaks. Furthermore, they are provided with smartphones and biometric devices to provide doorstep banking services that ease the process for the elderly and the disabled or also at times of emergency.

In Aspirational Districts, IPPB has opened over 95.71 lakh accounts. This aggregates to over 602 lakh transactions worth Rs.19,487 crore. In the LeftWing Extremism (LWE) districts, 67.20 lakh accounts have been opened by IPPB has over 426 lakh transactions which aggregate to an amount worth Rs.13,460 crore.

Government funds this bank as financial support. There is a budget that is proposed by the respective branch and aided to the fund of the bank accordingly. The Union Cabinet is given the responsibility to declare the budget. The Union Cabinet or the Cabinet Secretariat looks into the matters of administration and ensures the smooth running of businesses in the country. There is a revision of this budget every year. The latest revision budget for financial support declared by the Cabinet rounds off to about Rs 820 crore. The Cabinet has also given its in-principle approval for future fund infusion worth Rs 500 crore into IPPB for covering the expenses of regulatory requirements and technological up-gradation in the offices. As per the expert opinions, this amount is reasonable enough and will cover the financial inclusion of the Government, particularly in the rural areas of the country. This budget is important in several aspects:

• The amount focuses on improving the social conditions of the country.
• It perfectly fulfills the Government’s agenda of financial incorporation in the rural areas of the country.
• The amount also goes to the maintenance of the offices spread across the states of the country.
• The goal is to reach the farthest corners of the country and support the state-run payments bank.
• The budget includes a specific amount for meeting the regulatory requirements as well as the establishment of advanced technology.

The budget or the amount revision is important to keep up with the regular advancement in banking services. The objective of the project is to establish bank services that are accessible, affordable, and trusted by the commoners. The financial inclusion agenda will remove the barriers for the unbanked and reduce the opportunity cost through reliable and assisted doorstep banking. The project supervises the Government’s approach to a ‘less-cash economy’, keeping in mind the economic growth and the financial inclusion.