New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi dedicated 75 Digital Banking Units (DBU) across 75 districts to the nation via video conferencing on Sunday. “These 75 Digital Banking Units (DBU) will further financial inclusion and enhance banking experience for citizens. DBU is a big step in the direction of Ease of Living for the common citizens,” he said.

The Prime Minister said that in such a banking setup, the government aims to provide maximum services with minimum infrastructure, and all of this will happen digitally without involving any paperwork. It will also simplify the banking procedure while also providing a robust and secure banking system. “People living in small towns and villages will find benefits like transferring money to availing loans. Digital Banking Units are another big step in that direction which is going on in the country to make the life of common man of India easier,” he added.

The Prime Minister said that the aim of the government is to empower the common citizen and make them powerful, and as a result, policies were made keeping in mind the last person and the entire government moving in the direction of their welfare. He pointed out the two areas on which the government worked simultaneously. First, reforming, strengthening, and making the banking system transparent and secondly financial inclusion.

Despite initial misgivings in certain sections, Prime Minister Modi said: “Today the entire country is experiencing the power of Jan Dhan Bank accounts.” He informed that these accounts enabled the government to provide insurance to the vulnerable at a very low premium. “This opened the way for loans for the poor without collateral and provided Direct Benefit Transfer to the accounts of the target beneficiaries,” he said.

“UPI has opened up new possibilities for India,” the Prime Minister continued, “When financial partnerships are combined with digital partnerships, a whole new world of possibilities opens up. A huge example like UPI is before us. India is proud of this as it is the first technology of its kind in the world.” He informed that today 70 crore indigenous RuPay cards are in operation, a vast change from the days of foreign players and the elite nature of such products.

The Prime Minister pointed out that banking today has gone beyond financial transactions and has also become a medium of ‘Good Governance’ and ‘Better Service Delivery’. Today, this system has given rise to immense possibilities for growth for the private sector and small-scale industries as well. He further added that there is hardly any area in India in which product and service delivery through technology is not creating a new startup ecosystem.

Union Minister of Finance Nirmala Sitharaman and Governor of Reserve Bank of India Shaktikanta Das were among those present on the occasion. Chief Ministers, Union Ministers, State Ministers, Members of Parliament, banking leaders, experts and beneficiaries were connected via video conferencing. /BI/