Commercial banks have turned cautious in lending to smaller microfinance institutions (MFIs), which has compelled the latter to borrow from non-banking financial companies (NBFCs) at much higher rates. Recently Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Deputy Governor M Rajeshwar Rao slammed micro lenders for increasing their margins "disproportionately" and said these lenders were quick to pass on the increased cost to the borrowers but reluctant to pass on the benefits under the new regime, where margins are not capped.
"The PMJDY has been the foundation stone for the Modi government's people-centric economic initiatives. "Whether it is direct benefit transfers, Covid-19 financial assistance, PM-KISAN, increased wages under MGNREGA, life and health insurance cover, the first step was to provide every adult with a bank account, which PMJDY has nearly completed," Nirmala Sitharaman said on the sixth anniversary of the scheme.
Replying to a question about women empowerment, Sitharaman insisted that patriarchy is a concept invented by the Left.
The Union Finance Ministry on Tuesday said that aggregate business of public sector banks (PSBs) has shown strong growth of 11 per cent in the first half of the financial year 2024-25 (H1FY25) to touch Rs 236 trillion. The operating and net profit were also robust. At Rs 1.5 trillion, operating profit grew by 14.4 per cent year-on-year (Y-o-Y) while the net profit saw an impressive 25.6 per cent jump at Rs 85,520 crore in the first half of FY25.
More than 50 per cent of SIP accounts come from semi-urban and rural areas.
'Today, let us reaffirm our commitment to strive to realise Gandhiji's dreams. His watchwords, truth and nonviolence, will continue to remain relevant for the whole world. He also taught us that rights and duties are but the two sides of the coin - indeed, the true source of rights is duty. Today we recall his lessons in compassion too - compassion not only for our human neighbours but also for our other neighbours, namely, flora and fauna, rivers and mountains.'
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has barred four non-banking finance companies (NBFCs), including two microfinance institutions (MFIs), from sanctioning and disbursing loans for charging exorbitant interest rates to the borrowers. These four entities are Asirvad Microfinance, Arohan Financial Services (also an MFI), DMI Finance, which provides personal, consumption, and micro, small and medium enterprises loans, and Flipkart co-founder Sachin Bansal's Navi Finserv, which offers home and personal loans. The ban will take effect on October 21 to "facilitate closure of transactions in the pipeline", the regulator said in a statement.
The overdraft facility has been sanctioned in only 40,000 accounts
In the Union Budget for Financial Year 2023-24 (FY24), Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had held forth on the need for better governance and investor protection in the banking sector. She had proposed certain amendments to the Reserve Bank of India Act (RBI Act), 1934; the Banking Regulation Act (BR Act), 1949; and the Banking Companies (Acquisition and Transfer of Undertakings) Act, 1970.
Local people prevented the police from reaching the site immediately after the blast and it could have been done to shield the accused, said Thakur's lawyer, advocate JP Mishra.
The government is working to provide healthcare schemes to poor people under the Jan Dhan initiative.
Like Indira Gandhi, even Narendra Modi seems to be relying on directing public-sector banks through ministry of finance supported by party cadres, says Debashis Basu.
There were concerns that simply opening a bank account wouldn't constitute meaningful financial inclusion, as the poor would rarely use these accounts. However, recent data submitted to Parliament attests to increased account usage, says Ishan Bakshi.
Fully know your customer-complaint Jan Dhan account holders will be allowed to withdraw Rs 10,000 per month from their account, while limited or Non KYC compliant account holders can withdraw Rs 5,000 per month.
A packed beyond capacity bus carrying passengers returning to work after Diwali fell into a deep gorge in Uttarakhand's Almora district on Monday, killing at least 36 of the over 60 people on board.
Led by state-run banks, the system has opened over 5 crore (50 million) accounts under the Jan Dhan scheme as of September 25 and the deposits collected through the scheme have crossed Rs 3,500 crore, Financial Services Secretary GS Sandhu told the annual meeting of the Indo-American Chamber.
Swachch Bharat and Jan Dhan grabbed more eyeballs across clusters, regardless of party in power across states.
The two states account for 24% of total accounts opened under financial inclusion scheme.
As of March 2023, the share of accounts belonging to women stood at 36.4 per cent (917.7 million) of the total 2.52 billion individual accounts.
The Jan-Dhan accounts are zero balance accounts, comes with a life cover of Rs 30,000 per person, and an accidental cover of Rs 100,000. An active user of the account can also get overdraft facility of Rs 5,000 from banks.
The total balance in 255 million Jan Dhan accounts now stands at Rs 66,637 crore against Rs 45,637 crore on November 9.
The CBDT has begun the process of matching the deposits in accounts opened under the Pradhan Mantri Jan-Dhan Yojana (PMJDY), or Jan-Dhan accounts, with the profile of the depositors.
In view of the "runaway success" of the scheme, now it has been decided to make it open-ended with more incentives
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Private banks account for a total of 21.15 per cent in terms of advances in the overall banking system.
This week, as the I-T department scanned the deposits, reality hit them: Only a minuscule percentage of the Jan Dhan accounts had been used for money laundering.
The announcement comes on the first anniversary of the project.
Government's financial inclusion mission is well intentioned, but it may be putting a severe strain on the banking sector.
The music of Prem Ratan Dhan Payo is well done, and seems to be exactly what the filmmaker ordered, writes Aelina Kapoor.
The RBI Governor had earlier cautioned the banks on the risks involved in just hunting for numbers, asking them not to compromise on core objectives of the programme.
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) will launch the Unified Lending Interface (ULI) nationwide in due course, aiming to transform India's lending sector, similar to how the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) revolutionised the payments ecosystem, Governor Shaktikanta Das said on Monday.
All Jan Dhan bank accounts should be linked to Aadhaar, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Saturday while asking bankers to speed up this process and redouble efforts on financial literacy.
An accident insurance cover of Rs 1 lakh is also given to all individuals who open a bank account under the Jan-Dhan Yojana.
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has recognised the Fintech Association for Consumer Empowerment (FACE) as a self-regulatory organisation (SRO) in the fintech sector, the central bank announced on Wednesday. The banking regulator received three applications for fintech SRO. Of the remaining two applications, one has been returned by the RBI with a provision for resubmission after meeting specific requirements, while the third application is still under examination, said Governor Shaktikanta Das at the Global Fintech Fest in Mumbai.
Discussions are on in government about how to make the process simpler for the poor and more cost-effective for telecom operators, says Subhomoy Bhattacharjee.
Deposits in Jan Dhan account have more than doubled to Rs 87,000 crore in 45 days post demonetisation, prompting the tax department to "dissect" information relating to such deposits, a top government official said.
Against National Democratic Alliance's 75 million target, United Progressive Alliance added 61 million in 2013-14.
Under the scheme, which seeks to open 75 million accounts by January 26, 2015, an accident insurance cover of Rs 100,000 is provided with every RuPay debit card offered by the National Payments Corporation of India.
Apart from Gujarat, Shah claimed that co-operative movement is still active in many other states, such as Maharashtra, Karnataka and Rajasthan.
Desai, 57, was found dead at his studio in Karjat near Mumbai last August.
Third parties can be used to launder the proceeds of fraud schemes by criminals who gain illegal access to deposit accounts by recruiting them as 'money mules'
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