Srinagar, Sept 30: As part of setting up of 1109 Khidmat centres within Jammu and Kashmir under the national e-governance plan of Government of India, one more ‘Khidmat Centre’ was inaugurated at Aghar Jitto village in district Reasi.
 After inaugurating the Khidmat Centre, the Regional Director, Reserve bank of India (RBI) Arnab Roy, said, “Aghar Jitto village is one of the three model villages chosen by RBI for outreach activities in the State for 100 per cent financial Inclusion during 2010-11 by using Information Communication Technology (ICT) for issuance of smart cards through the Banking Correspondent (BC) model.”
 “The main aim was to achieve the objective of financial inclusion and proving doorstep banking services to the rural poor, small and marginal farmers, people of small means, women, etc,” he added.
 Executive Director/CFO J&K Bank Abdul Majid Mir highlighted the role of bank as service centre agency for the state.
 He said that the bank was implementing the plan of setting up of 1109 Khidmat centres within the state.
 The outreach programme, he said, was being continued to deepen the penetration of financial inclusion and expand the coverage of financial services to all sections of society effectively, particularly to those at the bottom of the economic pyramid and for achieving inclusive growth.
 He explained to the gathering that the biometric smart cards are very safe and have inbuilt security features for secured transactions and the card holders would get receipt for each transaction.
 A JKB statement said the centre would also act as the business correspondent of the bank especially for the smart card holders.
 The inauguration was part of the financial inclusion and awareness drive organised by the RBI’s Regional Office in collaboration with J&K Bank. Deliberations were held on the bank’s programme of Financial Inclusion and the issue of smart cards.
 A large number of villagers including women, senior citizens, NREGA beneficiaries and farmers attended the programme.
 On the occasion, Mir and Roy along with and other state dignitaries distributed smart cards issued by J & K Bank and witnessed the activation / transactions through smart cards not only for the common villagers but also for the NREGA beneficiaries.
 They also interacted with some of them while distributing smart cards and clarified their doubts.
 Among others present on the occasion was Avtar Singh, Additional District Development Commissioner, Reasi, J&K Bank and other senior government officials, bankers, teachers and students.
 With the help of J & K Bank, a counter for exchange of soiled and mutilated notes and issuance of fresh notes and coins was set up at the venue.

Lastupdate on : Thu, 30 Sep 2010 21:30:00 Makkah time
Lastupdate on : Thu, 30 Sep 2010 18:30:00 GMT
Lastupdate on : Fri, 1 Oct 2010 00:00:00 IST