Union finance minister Pranab Mukherjee reiterates his faith on the India banking sector saying that the gvernment's approach to the banking and financial sector has been to ensure robust oversight and regulation while expanding financial access and deepening markets.

Despite the expansion of banking network in the country, there are still some areas that remain under-banked or unbanked, he noted.

Mukherjee said that a sub-committee of State Level Bankers Committee (SLBC) will identify such areas and formulate an action plan for providing banking facilities to all these areas in the next 3 years.

'' I propose to set aside Rs100 crore during the current year as one-time grant-in-aid to ensure provision of at least one centre/Point of Sales (POS) for banking services in each of the unbanked blocks in the country,'' the minster said.

The merit of govermen's balanced approach in banking has been borne out in the recent experience, as the turbulence in the world financial markets has left the Indian banking and financial sector relatively unaffected, the minister said.

Mukherjee reacalled Indira Gandhi's decision to nationalise the banking system.