Providing Timely Credit To Agriculture And MSME Sectors Is Important: Das

There is a need for providing timely and seamless credit to agriculture and micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME) sectors, said Shaktikanta Das, Governor, Reserve Bank of India on Friday while speaking at Bank of Baroda’s annual banking conference in Mumbai. 

Das said that the presence of the human touch in traditional branch banking would still be relevant for customers in many respects. 

"While the RBI is engaged in encouraging initiatives in areas such as MSME lending through its Regulatory Sandbox, other stakeholders such as banks and fintech companies are also collaborating to provide digital credit delivery mechanisms in a cost-effective and hassle-free manner," he said. 

While talking about financial inclusion, Das said that it has been pursued vigorously with steady improvements as reflected in the Financial Inclusion Index introduced by the Reserve Bank. 

"Receiving digital payments such as wage payments, government cash transfers and domestic remittances are catalysing the financial inclusion drive," he said. 

The push provided by the JAM trinity has resulted in increased access to banking services to the unserved and the underserved, Das added. 

"While digital technologies are also offering a powerful way to overcome barriers to access banking and financial services, we also need to be sensitive to the requirements of our people to avoid digital divide," he said. 

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