the service providers in the industry to embrace this attractive development, especially to ensure government schemes reach the poor and downtrodden in the South Asian nation. Delivering her address at the centenary celebrations of the Tamilnad Mercantile Bank, the Minister recalled the distribution of funds to the needy through their bank accounts amid the pandemic, adding that digitalisation is transforming the banking sector at a “fast pace”.
“There is no necessity to open a branch in a place which does not have a bank. Today, to reach a bank account of the people who live there, all kinds of technologies are available… Even sitting from Tuticorin [a natural port city in the southern region of Tamilnadu] one can serve the banking requirements of people living in small villages through technology,” she noted.
“The way forward for any bank, particularly for a bank like Tamilnad Mercantile Bank, to be more efficient, is to adopt complete technology related solutions,” the Minister added.
During the event, Sitharaman presented cheque to a woman selling ‘idlies’, a type of savoury rice cake, in her pushcart, as part of the PM Jandhan Yojana financial inclusion scheme. Under this scheme, bank accounts with a zero balance received financial assistance from the government, particularly amid the pandemic. “If that scheme was not available, today you would not have been able to distribute the assistance to the woman. It would not have been possible if PM Jandhan Yojana was not launched in 2014,” the Minister pointed out.
