Main thrust for next 2-3 months is to revive growth: Arundhati Bhattacharya
State Bank of India (SBI) Chairperson Arundhati Bhattacharya on Thursday said that the main thrust of the premier bank for the next two to three months is to revive growth, mainly in small and medium
State Bank of India (SBI) Chairperson Arundhati Bhattacharya on Thursday said that the main thrust of the premier bank for the next two to three months is to revive growth, mainly in small and medium enterprises and agriculture sector.
Inaugurating an ATM as part of Digital Payment System at Gopal Krishna Tea Garden at Jagiroad in Assam's Morigaon district, Bhattacharya said that the SBI has taken step to declare 102 villages as digital village across the country and efforts are on to provide more services through mobile phone.
She said that the country’s largest public sector bank is committed to financial inclusion of all sections of people in all areas of the country.
"We have launched a financial inclusion of all sections of the people and this is a very enabling programme which we hope will empower all," she said.
Further, Bhattacharya said that about Rs 9 lakh crore of close to Rs 13 lakh crore, which was out of the economic system, has already come back post-demonetisation.
"Much of the money that was in system has come back. About Rs 15.44 lakh crore was in the system out of which some as in the banks. However, around Rs 13 lakh crore was out the system, out of which Rs 9 lakh crore has already come back," she said.
Noting that economic activity has picked up, she said that now only about Rs 4 lakh crore money is out of the system and this is also expected to come back to the system in one and half months' time.
"Full liquidity will be established in the market by the end of February this year," she added.
The SBI chairman also denied reports that the demonetisation has affected the tea gardens of the country and said that the tea garden workers had been receiving their wages in cash in the past.
"Post demonetisation, we have sent cash vans to tea estates to meet the cash requirement of tea workers. The banks have also started opening accounts of tea workers and the things are all right now," she said.
"Business correspondent have been involved and new ATMS are being set up. By and large there is not much impact of demonetisation on the tea gardens as utmost care was taken to meet their requirement," she said.
Bhattacharya added that the move to transfer toe wages of the tea garden workers to bank accounts will bring financial inclusion in the tea estates. "Workers use to spend whatever they get. As the money comes in the account we will able to offer them personal loans, housing loans and salary advances for the bank and they now would know how much a worker gets monthly," she said.