Expanding Rural Banking and Financial Opportunities for Women and Youth a Priority: Deepika Pandey Singh

Ranchi: Jharkhand Rural Development, Rural Works and Panchayati Raj Minister Deepika Pandey Singh has stressed the need to expand banking services in rural areas and improve access to financial opportunities for women and young people.

She was speaking at the 97th quarterly meeting of the State Level Bankers' Committee (SLBC), Jharkhand, held at the Jharkhand Secretariat on Thursday under the chairmanship of Finance Minister Radhakrishna Kishore. The meeting discussed issues related to rural banking infrastructure, Digital Panchayat, credit linkages for self-help groups (SHGs) and financial inclusion.

Deepika Pandey Singh said rural development programmes could achieve their intended impact only when banking services reached every village. She emphasised the need to increase the number of bank branches and ATMs, particularly in remote rural areas, and ensure convenient access to banking facilities for residents.

Highlighting the Digital Panchayat initiative of the Panchayati Raj Department, she said efforts were underway to equip panchayat buildings with digital facilities so that residents could access various citizen services through Common Service Centres (CSCs) without travelling long distances.

Under the first phase of the initiative, 673 panchayats were identified, of which banks have approved 335 locations. In the second phase, 571 of the 1,848 selected locations have received bank approval.

The Minister said connecting panchayats with digital and financial services would reduce the need for rural residents to travel to distant locations and help transform panchayat buildings into accessible service delivery centres.

Referring to more than 32 lakh rural women associated with self-help groups, she said they had demonstrated their financial capabilities through disciplined financial practices and sound credit records. She called for creating more opportunities for these women to work as Bank Sakhis and Business Correspondents (BCs), while further strengthening credit linkages for self-help groups.

According to the Minister, such measures would not only improve banking access in rural areas but also enable women to play a direct role in delivering financial services and strengthening their economic independence.

She also highlighted the department's focus on promoting rural women's entrepreneurship and rural industrialisation through the 'NARI' scheme. She proposed developing pilot projects in every district in collaboration with banks to advance this objective.

Emphasising employment opportunities for trained youth, Deepika Pandey Singh said young people trained through Rural Self Employment Training Institutes (RSETIs) should receive bank loans without unnecessary delays. She called for stronger coordination between banks and concerned government departments to ensure timely financial assistance for those seeking to establish businesses or pursue self-employment.

The Minister said skill training alone was not sufficient to promote entrepreneurship unless it was followed by access to institutional finance and bank credit. She added that better coordination among banking institutions, government departments and grassroots organisations was essential to strengthen rural livelihoods and build a self-reliant rural economy.

Agriculture, Animal Husbandry and Cooperative Minister Shilpi Neha Tirkey, senior officials from various departments, representatives of the Reserve Bank of India and officials from different banks also attended the meeting.

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