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LATEST NEWS UPDATES | Bank correspondent model for NREGA closer to reality by Devika Banerji & Dheeraj Tiwari

Bank correspondent model for NREGA closer to reality by Devika Banerji & Dheeraj Tiwari

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published Published on Aug 3, 2011   modified Modified on Aug 3, 2011

The Centre is likely to ask states to devote 2% of the funds allocated to them under its flagship rural employment guarantee scheme for providing easy banking services to the rural poor.

A funding crisis had hit the government's earlier effort to leverage the banking correspondent, or BC, model for the beneficiaries of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) after banks refused to bear the cost of implementing the concept.

The BC model seeks to increase banking penetration in rural areas by using agents to deliver services on a commission basis. It is touted as an answer to corruption and delayed payments, which have besieged MGNREGA.

"We need to implement the bank correspondent model, and for that, we have to support banks for a certain period of timea¦possibly 2-3 years," Planning Commission member Mihir Shah said. "After 2-3 years, we believe, that the correspondents will create enough business to sustain themselves."

The Centre has committed more than 40,000 crore a year for MGNREGA, its largest allocation for any social welfare scheme.

Chairman of Punjab National Bank K R Kamath said if there is a consensus on the issue, it will defray the expenses of the banks immediately. "It will incentivise the banks to expand their reach and further the cause of financial inclusion," he said.

The government has been exploring the possibility of using bank correspondents to make payments to beneficiaries of MGNREGA since 2009, but the concept remained largely on paper as there was no clarity on who should bear the cost of implementing the model - banks or the government.

Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh had said that the cost of rolling out the BC model could be easily met from the existing resources of MGNREGA. "Late wage payments are an issue, which can be corrected by implementing the banking correspondent modela¦We need to address the issue of delayed wage payments on a war footing," Ramesh had said last week.

According to the ministry of rural development, it will cost banks only 80 per account per year to implement the model. "We are now trying to work out how much of it can be absorbed within the administrative costs given to states," said an official in the ministry. "Providing the 2% margin demanded by banks for funding the commission of correspondents seems likely."

Experts say the BC model will be sustainable only if it has a commercial viability. "You have to understand that any BC would take it seriously only if he gets a handsome amount," said Rishi Gupta, director and CFO at Financial Inclusion Network & Operations, a Mumbai-based business and banking technology platform. Gupta's company handles MGNREGA payments for different banks in eight states and has about 12 million customers.

Under MGNREGA, 6% of the overall allocation towards the scheme is reserved for capacity building and development of administrative infrastructure.

The government had asked states to share 2% of the money reserved for administrative development with banks to support BC operations. At present, only two or three states share the administrative costs with banks, a key reason behind the stunted growth of the BC model.


Of the funds allocated for MGNREGA in the 2011-12 budget, 2,400 crore are reserved for administrative expenses. Over the past two years, states have been able to utilise only 25-30% of the administrative expenses.

The government had until last year asserted that banks should meet the expenses of rolling out the BC model through the funds provided for financial inclusion activities. But it is now keen for a quick resolution of the issue.

"The teething troubles, which the model is facing, can easily be met through the resources that we have. Money should not be an issue," added Shah.


The Economic Times, 2 August, 2011, http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/economy/policy/bank-correspondent-model-for-nrega-closer-to-reality/articleshow/9461611.cms


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