India’s 29 central co-operative banks are working to extend modern facilities to rural areas with the introduction of mobile cashpoints.
The ATMS, which will be carried by van to provide door-to-door banking facilities, are being developed with the support of the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) as part of its e-Shakti programme to digitise the country’s network of self-help groups and promote financial inclusion.
Rajasthan’s state co-operative minister Ajay Singh Kilak said: “Our effort is to provide banking facilities in the rural areas still untouched by bank branches.”
He praised the e-Shakti digitisation programme and said the government would provide credit to the self help groups at subsidised rates.
The co-operative sector would act as a catalyst in empowerment of women in the state, he added.
Rajasthan state government is also setting up a three-member board for to ensure the fair and transparent appointment of employees and officials to the co-op sector.
The board is empowered to decide the selection process and eligibility of employees, and to seek the help of professional bodies in framing the guidelines for recruitment.
Mr Singh Kilak said all those cooperative bodies where the government share capital is more than Rs 5 lakh would come under the board’s remit.
