SHILLONG: At the nation-wide launch of the Jan Dhan Yojna Scheme on Thursday which was announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Independence Day this year as a National Mission on Financial Inclusion, Meghalaya Chief Minister Mukul Sangma has said that Meghalaya had already blazed that trail since 2012 when the financial inclusion scheme for women was launched.
In that scheme, bank accounts were opened and Rs 5000 was deposited as seed money for women to start small enterprises.
The Jan Dhan Yojna scheme was launched in Delhi at 4 pm and simultaneous functions were held in all state capitals and at the districts as well. Addressing the gathering during the launching of the scheme, Sangma asserted that the Union Government had picked up the whole design of the Meghalaya Government’s scheme for empowering women which was launched in the year 2012.
Sangma said the Meghalaya Government had made a presentations to the Planning Commission and other line ministries in Delhi about this scheme. “I had sent a letter to the Finance Minister about the scheme which we had started,” he said while adding that Meghalaya has shown the way to the country with regards to the implementation of the financial inclusion scheme. The only thing lacking in the Meghalaya version is the Rs one lakh insurance against any accident that could befall the account holder. If a person enters the scheme within January 2015, he/she gets Rs 30,000 more as insurance cover.
The Chief Minister said that the Meghalaya Government so far has invested Rs 60 crore in this scheme and 90,000 women have so far been mobilized. Seed money of Rs 5,000 for starting small enterprises has been deposited in the accounts of 8720 people.
Sangma stated that the Government intends to leverage on this programme even though banks are quite critical about driving such programmes. Asserting that the State did not have banks in rural areas, he stated that now all the Blocks today have bank branches even as he stated that the banks should now think of venturing into far flung areas. He emphasised that banking facilities must be made accessible to the people The objective of the scheme is to cover all households in the country with banking facilities by having a bank account for each household, so that people hereto excluded from the banking fold can be included in the mainstream financial system.
Since the scheme was announced on August 15 this year Meghalaya has conducted as many as 76 Financial Literacy Camps in the past 2-3 days, wherein approximately 4600 “Small Savings Bank Accounts” for hitherto unbanked people from Rural, Semi Urban & Urban areas were opened, with liberalized KYC requirements.
The small savings bank accounts are also loaded with features like Rupay ATM Cards, Accident Insurance cover of up to Rs. One lakh as additional benefits.
Some 25 Small Savings Bank Account customers from various SBI branches were handed over their pass books by the Chief Minister along with passbooks to 10 Kisan Credit Card (KCC) borrowers.
SBI also took the opportunity to donate 1 computer each to Thynroit Presbyterian Secondary School, and Mizo Modern Higher Secondary School, Nongrim Hills, Shillong, under the Corporate Social Responsibility activity. Earlier Chief Secretary, PBO Warjri said that the scheme would enable people to break free from the clutches of money lenders who extort people with high interest rates. Senior officials from the State Government, officials from different SBI branches and bank customers were also present on the occasion.