Chief Secretary, B R Sharma Thursday chaired the 1st meeting of the State Level Financial Inclusion Committee ( SLFIC), set up to ensure review of financial inclusion efforts of various banks operating in the State.The Committee reviewed the implementation of Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY), Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Yojana (PMJJBY), Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana (PMSBY), Atal Pension Yojana (APY) and Pradhan Mantri MUDRA Yojana (PMMY) in the State.The Committee was informed that under PMJDY, over 17.4 Lakh bank accounts have been opened and over 14.4 Lakh RuPay Debit Cards have been issued among the beneficiaries in the State. Out of 14.4 Lakh RuPay Cards issued by banks operating in J&K, 8.85 Lakh are active. The Committee instructed the banks to organise camps for distribution and activation of all RuPay Debit Cards. Banks were also instructed to undertake comprehensive publicity measures to create awareness among the masses about the importance and benefit of seeding Aadhaar and Mobile Number in their bank accounts.
To ensure benefits accrue to the beneficiaries under all Centrally Sponsored Schemes (CSS), Chief Secretary urged banks operating in the State to proactively cooperate with concerned Administrative Secretaries for timely seeding of Aadhaar and Mobile Numbers of beneficiaries with their bank accounts.Banks were also instructed to launch publicity measures to boost lending under Micro Units Development & Refinance Agency (MUDRA). MUDRA scheme has been divided into three categories as per the maximum allowed loan sums i.e Shishu: covering loans up to Rs 50,000, Kishor : Covering loans above Rs 50000 to Rs 5 Lakh and Tarun : covering loans above Rs 5 Lakh and upto Rs 10 Lakh.Instructions were also issued to ensure that unserved population in the State is extending financial services. Banks were asked to identify areas with connectivity problems and take up with the concerned Telecom Authority to address the issues.