New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday said that more than Rs 1300 crore was paid back to depositors in the last few days, which was stuck for years. “In the last few days, more than one lakh depositors have got their money back that was stuck for years. This amount is more than Rs 1300 crore,” said Prime Minister Modi while addressing a function on “Depositors First: Guaranteed Time-bound Deposit Insurance Payment up to Rs 5 lakh” here.

“Today’s new India strives for solving problems. Today’s India does not avoid problems. Understanding the concern of the poor, understanding the concern of the middle class, we increased the guaranteed amount to Rs 5 lakh. Earlier there was no time limit for refund. Now our government has made it mandatory to refund within 90 days,” he said.

The Prime Minister said that “banks play a major role in the prosperity of the country. And for the prosperity of the banks, it is equally important for the depositors’ money to be safe. If we want to save the bank, then depositors have to be protected.”

“When even the developed countries of the world were struggling to provide help to their citizens, India provided direct help to almost every section of the country very quickly. Of the crores of bank accounts opened under Jan Dhan Yojana, more than half belong to women,” he said.

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, MoS for Finance Anurag Thakur and RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das were among those present on the occasion. The Prime Minister also handed over cheques to some of the depositors. “Today is a very important day for the banking sector and crores of bank account holders of the country as this day is witnessing how a big problem which was going on for decades has been solved,” he said. /BI/