236
villages indicated in the November 2, 2010 policy statement) and thereafter
progressively to all villages over a period of time. The RBI had advised all banks
– both in the public and privates sectors – to put in place a Board-approved
three-year financial inclusion plan (FIP) up to March 2013 and submit the
same to RBI by March 2010. What is meant by banking coverage? A village is
covered by banking, if either a bank branch is present or a BC is physically
present or visiting that village.
In pursuance of the monetary policy statement of April 2010, the State-
Level Banker’s Committees prepared the roadmap to provide banking services
in every village with a population of over 2,000 and have allotted to various
banks 73,313 unbanked identified villages as per the 2001 Census for the
provision of banking services by March 2012 (as against the earlier timeline of
March 2011)
26
.
Now, as per the board-approval action programmes submitted by all
domestic scheduled commercial banks, the three-year targets until March 2013,
as set out in Table 9.3, appear unduly ambitious. As expected, a preponderant
part of the coverage of villages is to be achieved through BCs. The numbers
of bricks and mortar branches envisaged, though appearing moderate, are
noteworthy – increases of 1,185 during 2010-11, 1,934 during 2011-12 and
1,076 during 2012-13. These are expected to serve as support base for such
large additions in BC-served villages as 43,643, 120,693 and 122,918 in
the above three years, respectively. What appears unrealistic is the sudden
anticipated increases in the ratio (or multiple) of the average numbers of BC-
26
The RBI’s Annual Report for 2010-11 (p.86) says that ‘about 72,800 such unbanked villages
have been identified and allotted to various banks through State-Level Bankers Committees’.
Table 9.3: Villages Covered for Banking Services: Achievements and Targets
Villages Covered
Achievements
Targets
March 2010 March 2011 March 2012 March 2013
A. Total Villages
54,757
99,840 223,473 348,283
(i) With less than 2000 population
27,014
46,443 133,816 254,653
(ii) With more than 2,000
27,743
53,397
89,657
93,630
B. Villages Covered
54,757
99,840 223,473 348,283
(i) Through branches
21,499
22,684
24,618
25,694
(ii) Through BCs
33,158
76,801 197,494 320,412
(iii) Through ATMs, Mobile Vans, etc.
100
355
1,361
2,177
C. Ratio of BC-served Villages to bank branch
-served villages (in Multiple)
1.54
3.39
8.02
12.47
Source:
Chakrabarty (2011)
