SEED to help small PNB account holders with income earning schemes
07 Jul 2010
The largest public sector bank in the country Punjab National Bank has roped in the Society for Educational Welfare and Economic Development (SEED) to initiate an ''earn money and run your account'' programme to provide jobs to people, as a part of its dtrive to implement a banking model for rural areas.
The initiative involves opening poultry farms and dairies in Rohtak to provide employment facilities for small account holders in the area.
In its effort to encourage microfinance and micro-credit services in the remote areas through rural banking services, PNB plans to provide these account holders with smart cards, which they can use by approaching the panchayats.
The panchayats will be given hand-held devices to verify the transactions made through these smart cards.
PNB's rural banking model already has 1.1 lakh smart cards users.
SEED works for the public sector units and large companies in implementing their financial inclusion projects.
It has helped ONGC, SAIL, Punjab National Bank, Bank of India to strategise and implement socially relevant projects in 11 states with technology partners TCS, HCL, and Infotel.