Focus: GS-III Indian Economy
Why in news?
The Department of Posts has now extended all small savings schemes upto the Branch Post Office level.
Why was this done?
The Extension was done in order to strengthen its network and postal operations in rural areas and provide facility of small savings scheme to the vast majority in villages.
Advantages
The new order has allowed Branch Post Offices to offer facilities of Public Provident Fund, Monthly Income Scheme, National Savings Certificate, Kisan Vikas Patra and Senior Citizen Savings Schemes also.
People living in villages will now be able to get the same Post Office Savings Bank facilities which people in urban areas have been availing.
They will be able to deposit their savings into these popular schemes through the post office in their village itself.
India Post Payments Bank (IPPB)
- India Post Payments Bank (IPPB) is a financial service provider that will operate under the country’s postal department.
- The government-owned payments bank will be able to accept deposits of up to Rs. 1 lakh from customers.
- But they do not have the rights to use these funds to advance risky loans at higher interest rates.
- India Post Payments Bank (IPPB) offers three types of savings accounts—regular, digital and basic.
- The primary rationale is to help in the goal of achieving financial inclusion.
- India’s age-old postal department has a wide network of branches across India, IPPB can thus offer savings, remittance, and payments services to the rural and unorganised sectors.
- IPPB is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Deparment of Post, with 100 percent Government of India equity.
- It will be governed by Reserve Bank of India (RBI).
