IMPHAL March 25: In a move to expand banking facilities in the entire north eastern states, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) will be relaxing certain norms in licensing bank authorities to open their branches in the region besides opening a new RBI office at Tripura’s capital within May next.
Deepak Mohanty, executive director of RBI, Mumbai who came to the state on a day-long financial outreach(FO) camp in Ukhrul district headquarters told media persons on Monday, that RBI will be relaxing certain norms in this regard.
“We’ll be opening our next office in Agartala”, the executive director said. “RBI’s central board meeting will also be held there (Agartala) in May”.
The FO camp was held to enhance presence of formal financial sector in the region as part of RBI’s its platinum jubilee celebration and in an attempt to avail such banking facilities to every adult citizen in the target areas with an ultimate aim for 100 percent financial inclusion all over the country.
RBI is also making all out effort to solve the unavailability of smaller denomination currency notes or coins in Manipur. “We have noted down the grievances,” Surekha Marandi, Regional Director,RBI Guwahati who accompanied the Executive Director said.“We’re looking for an alternative arrangement as coins can be transported by air only.”
It is said that Remittance worth Rs 1303.40 crores and remittance of coins worth Rs 110.05 lakh were sent to Manipur either from RBI Kolkata or Guwahati through State Bank of India(SBI) and United Bank of India(UBI) from April 2009 to March last year. However no Rs 5 notes or the smaller denomination (coins) are available in Manipur.
Recalling the opening of first ATM booth in Ukhrul district recently, SBI’s Chief general manager RK Garg who is the in charge of north eastern states said three more ATMs will be opened in Imphal soon. Presently SBI has around 12 ATM booths in Imphal area, Axis bank has 5, UBI has only one.
“But we are planning to open two more within March end”, UBI’s chairman and managing director Bhaskar Sen said. The two booths will be installed at Mao gate (Senapati district) and INA complex Moirang (Bishnupur district).With this Manipur will be having a total of around 7 ATM booths by the end of this year.
Earlier, the UBI chief had inaugurated its 1583rd branch at the mini secretariat building of the hill town in the presence of RBI executive director Deepak Mohanty, regional director Surekha Marandi, Manipur principal secretary (works) Ramnganing Muivah, deputy commissioner N Ashokumar of the district, PK Roy, UBI’s general manager(FIPS) and others.
