More than a month has passed since the Covid induced nationwide lockdown was announced, but there are no signs of either the government or the RBI coming out with any compensation for the bank mitras who are extending services to Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana subscribers in interior India.

Business correspondents are hoping that the government would ask the RBI to do something and the central bank in turn would ask the banks to do the needful. Banks shouldn’t fret about giving ₹3,000 per month (for three months) to each of the 1.5 lakh bank mitras who are the front-line warriors.

After all, this can be reimbursed to the banks out of the financial-inclusion fund controlled by NABARD, say industry insiders.

Listen to Chacha Choudhary

At a time when every company worth its penny is telling us to stay at home, good old Chacha Chaudhary is also back. Diamond Toons has come up with a simple and efficient form of communication, Talking Comics, with India’s most trusted character Chacha Chaudhary teaching the whys and hows of Covid-19. Being a big influencer among kids and adults alike, Chacha Chaudhary and comics are a perfect medium to spread awareness of the need to stay at home and stay safe.

Manish Verma, Director, Diamond Toons, said, “As he is a favourite of all generations, the message will not only reach kids but also adults. The new comic will be available across digital mediums in various languages.” Verma has a point there. Sometimes a comic can do what other modes of communication cannot.

As bizarre as it gets

US President Donald Trump’s bizarre press conference recently where he suggested “injecting” disinfectant as treatment against Covid-19 has gone viral on social media. Reckitt Benckiser, known for brands Dettol and Lizol, had to release a statement advising consumers not to try anything on those lines.

Tweet for change?

The power engineers association has taken to twitter to voice its protest against the draft bill that has proposed changes in the Electricity Act, 2003. Power engineers across the country started a five-day tweet campaign demanding immediate withdrawal of the Electricity (Amendment) Bill 2020.

The Bill is said to have pushed for privatisation of the power sector during the Covid-19 pandemic crisis and nationwide lockdown.

Testing times

The latest buzz in the corridors of power is that one may have to wait for the nationwide lockdown to be completely lifted before any announcement of stimulus package for the economy is made by the government. If rumour mills are to be believed, the scheduled lifting of the lockdown on May 3 may get extended to mid-May. This is bound to test the patience of people, especially of those working from home.

On tenterhooks

“We are nuked out of existence” is how a prominent player in the financial-inclusion industry described the impact of the multi-billion dollar deal between Mark Zuckerberg and Mukesh Ambani.

Here’s the even more interesting bit. Soon after the Facebook-RJio deal was announced, some smaller fintech and financial-inclusion players knocked the doors of SBI to seek a helping hand in facing the dim future that lay ahead for them, it is learnt. Promptly they were told that SBI itself sees its position as that of an ant that will get crushed under the feet of this elephant (Facebook-RJio combine) and so there is no point knocking the doors of the country’s largest bank.

The cause of the smaller fintech and financial-inclusion players would be better served if they knocked the doors of the Prime Minister’s Office, it was suggested. Can’t agree more with this wise counsel.

Our Delhi Bureau

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