Post Bank of India

 

Communications and Information Technology Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad on Friday May 22,2015 said the proposed Post Bank of India will be a "game changer". It will take financial inclusion to a new level, he said while addressing the heads of circles of the postal department.

The idea of Post Bank of India was first mooted in 2006, when it was announced that India Post would open a bank to erase its Rs 1,000 crore deficit during the 11th Five Year Plan

India Post has 1.4 lakh rural branches, while all other banks put together have about 35,000 rural banks most of which are not in rural panchayat towns.

Of India Post's 1.55 lakh post offices, more than 1.39 lakh are in rural areas. On an average, a post office serves an area of 21.21 sq. km and a population of 7,175 people.

When the RBI invited licences for opening banks, India Post was one of the applicants. However, it was not given a banking licence in the first round where only IDFC and Bandhan finance were granted licences in April 2014

Once the Post Bank is set up, the government plans to take it public or gradually increase public participation to raise funds after converting the vast post office network into a commercial bank.