SRINAGAR: Srinagar, Bandipora, and Kupwara figure among the districts in the country with low banking facilities. Documents reveal that Srinagar, Bandipora, and Kupwara rank at the bottom of the per capita distribution of the number of branches or fixed business correspondents under access parameters.
According to details, against 18.81 branches in Jammu and Kashmir per lakh population, Bandipora and Kupwara respectively have 11.98 branches and 10.34 branches per lakh population. These two districts of north Kashmir also have 14.02 and 14.59 business correspondents per lakh population, respectively, compared with 20.71 business correspondents per lakh population in the Union Territory. Similarly, the summer capital district of Srinagar has just 8.81 fixed business correspondents per lakh population compared with 20.71 BCs per lakh population in the Union Territory.
The data is based on the Financial Inclusion (FI) Index, constructed by the Reserve Bank of India to measure the extent of financial inclusion across the country in a holistic manner. The FI Index has been published for the years 2021, 2022, 2023, and 2024. It is responsive to ease of access, availability and usage of services, and the quality of services.
The issue of low banking facilities in these three districts of Kashmir was also discussed in the 14th State Level Bankers Committee (SLBC) meeting chaired by Chief Secretary Atul Dullo. During the meeting, the chief secretary emphasised the need for banks to improve the number of brick-and-mortar branches and fixed business correspondents in Bandipora and Kupwara districts, as well as fixed business correspondents in Srinagar, to bring them in line with the national average of branches and fixed BCs per one lakh population.
“Banks must make intense efforts to improve the branch and BC network in Bandipora and Kupwara districts and the BC network in Srinagar district to bring them up to the national average of branches and fixed BCs per one lakh population, within a time-bound manner,” reads the minutes of the SLBC meeting released on January 1. (KNO)
