Gandhinagar, 29 November 2014

Chief Minister Anandiben Patel today asked the top brass of Public Sector Banks in Gujarat to fulfil 100 per cent target of opening ‘Jan Dhan’ bank accounts in the state by December 4, 2014.

Addressing the 143rd State Level Bankers Committee (SLBC) meeting here, she said that the Prime Minister is himself keen to see Gujarat taking the lead in this welfare scheme for direct cash transfer. So far, only 1.02-crore accounts have been opened, which makes only 70 per cent of the target, the remaining 30 per cent has to be covered in less than a week. She asked the bankers to take up the project on a mission mode and ensure filling up requisite forms to open the account are made simple.

Similarly, she said, the public sector banks should encourage village women coming to banks to open accounts to build toilet in their homes. The bankers as part of their corporate social responsibility should ensure they meet 100 per cent target in nearby villages.

The Chief Minister said that the government’s welfare scheme to bring the poor and have-nots in the mainstream is impossible without the active cooperation of nationalized banks. She made particular reference to the Dattopant Thengdi Scheme for Workers, Construction Workers in the Unorganised Sector, Pandit Deen Dayal Upadhyay Loan Scheme for Youth Entrepreneurs.

Chief Secretary D.J. Pandian stressed on the need for coordination of bankers with government departments concerned to ensure the benefits reach the target groups.

Union Finance Ministry’s Senior Secretary Hasmukh Adhia made a detailed presentation on the Prime Minister’s Jan Dhan Scheme.

Those present on the occasion included Gujarat’s Social Justice and Empowerment Minister Ramanlal Vora, Finance Minister Saurabh Patel, and senior officers of RBI, NABARD and various banks in the state.