SCB deposits up by Rs 3.28 lakh crore in April-Sep: Govt

The year-on-year growth of aggregate deposits of SCBs in the month of March in 2017, 2018 and 2019 was 10.1 per cent, 6.1 per cent and 9.2 per cent, respectively, Minister of State for Finance Anurag Thakur told the Lok Sabha in a written reply.

He said the Government has taken a number of steps to improve bank deposits including under the Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana, where 37.95 crore accounts have been opened under the scheme, mobilising bank deposits amounting to Rs 1.13 lakh crore as on January 22, 2020.

In Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) scheme, Rs 9.19 lakh crore have been transferred directly into the accounts of beneficiaries, promoting account-based transactions and accumulation of savings and interest thereon as deposits in banks.

On the network of ''Bank Mitras'' for branchless banking in rural areas, he said that over 1.26 lakh Bank Mitras have been deployed, improving mobilisation of deposits from rural areas.

Under the expansion of branch network, the domestic branch network of SCBs has increased by 23,730 in the last five financial years, enabling better mobilisation of deposits. Seven Payments Banks with 671 branches are now operational under this new bank licence category introduced in November 2014, mobilising bank deposits of Rs 883 crore, as on March 2019. Ten Small Finance Banks with 2,469 branches are now operational under this new bank licence category introduced in November 2014, mobilising bank deposits of Rs 55,686 crore, as on March 2019.