The Hindu Business Line : ‘Banks should expand outreach’

New Delhi, June 6 Banks need to expand their outreach to hitherto unbanked areas/States by re-focusing their strategies and using appropriate technology and delivery channels, the Minister of State for Finance, Mr Pawan Kumar Bansal, has said.

Addressing the 15th General Assembly of the World Savings Bank Institute here on Wednesday, Mr Bansal pointed out that most businesses of banks in India were still concentrated in urban and semi-urban areas and the challenge in going forward was to increase banking penetration further to bring about financial inclusion.

The theme of the General Assembly was ‘Overcoming financial exclusion through microfinance’.

Since 2006, opening new branches for any bank is approved only on condition that at least half of such new branches are opened in under-banked areas.

On the status of the Bill to regulate and develop the microfinance sector, Mr Bansal later told Business Line that the Government was keen to enact a law for this sector during the current year and that a Bill was before a Standing Committee of Parliament.

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