Meet discusses IPPB services in rural areas

SHILLONG: The Meghalaya State Rural Livelihood Society (MSRLS) in collaboration with India Post Payment Bank (IPPB) organised a review meeting on “Financial Inclusion and IPPB” at Aurobindo Hall on Tuesday with an aim to reach out to rural folks in need of banking services.
India Post Payments Bank was launched on September 1 with an objective to convert or exchange banking services from post office counters. One of the trainers present at the programme said that from now on, post offices will be serving as banks and post offices counters will be working as ATMs accessed by Aadhaar card and biometrics.
With banks not present in rural areas, the post office outlets will act as commercial centres for rural folks. IPPB will bring banking services to the people’s doorstep. The MSRLS has tied up with IPPB for the purpose of reaching out to rural folks in need of banking services. The trainer added that members of Self Help Groups (SHGs) will be trained to provide banking services and the role to spread financial literacy in rural areas. “There are 237 post offices out of 480 post offices functioning as banks in eleven districts at 6 centres – Jowai, Nongpoh, Nongstoin, Tura, Williamnagar and Shillong,” the trainer said. State Manager, Financial Inclusion of MSRLS, Ronald Kynta said there are two types of cadres: Bank sakhi and financial literacy cadre. Bank sakhi assists rural people to open bank accounts, while financial literacy cadres spread about financial management such as planning, budgeting and marketing in villages. There are 122 financial literacy cadres and 116 bank sakhi in the state. He informed that there are 12000 SHGs in the state.