Mubashir Aalam Wani
Srinagar, Jan 11: In a matter of concern, Srinagar, Bandipora, and Kupwara figure among the districts in the country with low banking facilities. Documents in possession reveal that Srinagar, Bandipora, and Kupwara fall at the bottom of the per capita distribution of the number of branches/fixed business correspondents under access parameters.
According to details, against 18.81 branches in J&K per lakh population, Bandipora and Kupwara respectively have 11.98 branches and 10.34 branches per lakh population. According to the data, these two districts of north Kashmir respectively have 14.02 and 14.59 business correspondents per lakh population against 20.71 business correspondents per lakh population in the UT. Similarly, the summer capital district of Srinagar has just 8.81 fixed business correspondents per lakh population against 20.71 BCs per lakh population in the UT.
The data is based on the Financial Inclusion (FI) Index, constructed by the Reserve Bank of India, to measure the extent of financial inclusion across the country in a holistic manner. The FI Index has been published for the years 2021, 2022, 2023, and 2024. It is responsive to ease of access, availability and usage of services, and quality of services.
The issue of low banking facilities in these three districts of Kashmir was also discussed in the 14th State Level Bankers Committee (SLBC) chaired by Chief Secretary Atul Dullo. During the meeting, the chief secretary impressed upon banks to improve the number of brick-and-mortar branches and fixed BCs in district Bandipora and Kupwara and fixed BCs in district Srinagar to bring them at par with the national average of branches and fixed BCs per one lakh population.
“Banks to put in intense efforts to improve the branch and BC network in district Bandipora and Kupwara and BC network in District Srinagar to bring them at par with the national average of branches and fixed BCs per one lakh population, in a time-bound manner,” reads the minutes of the SLBC meeting released on January 01. (KNO)
