KVGB to recruit more women pigmy agents

To take banking to more women in rural areas, the Dharwad-headquartered Karnataka Vikas Grameena Bank (KVGB) is planning to recruit more women ‘pigmy’ agents during the current financial year.

KVGB Chairman Ashok Reddy told BusinessLine that the bank appointed more than 100 women pigmy (daily deposit collection) agents during 2014-15 in the age group between 18 and 40 years to ensure greater participation of women in financial inclusion. The total number of such agents is around 800 (including around 100 women agents).

During the current financial year, the bank is planning to recruit another 300 agents. Of them, 200 will be women, he said.

(Pigmy deposit scheme was introduced by Syndicate Bank in 1928. Under this, the bank collected as low as two annas (twelve paise) every day from the doorsteps of the depositors through its agents).

To a query on the reason behind appointing more women agents, he said the bank has a scheme called ‘Vikas Janashakti’ to meet the credit needs of small entrepreneurs.

Under this, the customers can take loans ranging from ₹5,000 to ₹4 lakh.

In this, the loan repayment is linked to the small amounts contributed by customers through the daily deposit scheme (pigmy) of the bank at their doorstep.

By recruiting women agents, the bank will be able to convince women customers better.

The bank got this feedback from most of the villages under its jurisdiction, he said.

The Prime Minister’s financial inclusion plan gives importance for financing the woman in the family.

Stating that the bank wants to provide banking facilities to more women, he said the bank wanted to achieve this by recruiting more women agents. KVGB, which is sponsored by Syndicate Bank, has presence in nine districts of Karnataka. They are: Dharwad, Gadag, Haveri, Vijapura, Belagavi, Bagalkot, Uttara Kannada, Udupi and Dakshina Kannada.

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