New Delhi;
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Wednesday said banks are going to be the catalysts for economic revival.
"At this stage, the catalysts for economic revival, the catalysts who have the pulse of every one of their customers, are banks," the finance minister said.
She was speaking after launching PSB Alliance-Doorstep Banking Services Wdnesday..
Financial services will be a part of the doorstep banking services available to public sector bank (PSB) customers from October.The minister announced the decision during the release of the EASE 2.0 Index rankings on PSB performance from March 2018 to 2020, said an official statement. .
The move is seen particularly benefiting senior citizens and those in the ‘divyang’ category, it said.
Currently, only nonfinancial services such as pickup of cheques and demand draft are available through doorstep banking agents.
The EASE Index ranks PSBs based on their performance in various themes like responsible banking, governance and HR, credit offtake, customer responsiveness and ‘Udyamimitra’ for micro, small and medium enterprises.
The minister further said banks have to introspect on their core business and also focus on welfare.
"You don't forget your core activity, which is lending and making money out of it and that is a legitimate activity. You will do that and also being public sector, do some things which are welfare related as announced by the government," she said.She emphasised that even private sector banks will have to contribute towards implementation of government schemes.She said all bank staffers should know the details of government schemes which are to be implemented through the lenders.
"It is your duty to know about the schemes that the government passes to customers through you. I would want to be sure that your staff at every level has at least some idea of what are the government schemes being passed through you to citizens," Sitharaman said.This awareness is going to make banks more accessible to customers who want to avail those schemes, she added.