V’nagar first among 112 districts in NITI ranking

MADURAI: Virudhunagar took a giant stride forward in ensuring 100 per cent financial inclusion and emerged on top of the list of 112 aspirational districts in the latest ranking released by NITI Aayog.

Crediting the excellent coordination between district administration and bankers, Virudhunagar Collector J Meghanatha Reddy told DT Next that bankers were asked to adopt villages under the ‘Hundred per cent FIN Villages’ strategy to achieve full coverage of insurance.

During the first phase, 54 villages achieved 100% insurance, with at least one person from every family being insured under Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana (PMJJBY), Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana (PMSBY) or ‘Atal Pension Yojana’ (APY). So far, 111 villages in the district have been covered under the programme, he said. “We have utilised the resources of existing mechanisms. At every monthly meeting with bankers, topics were discussed and accordingly we went on a target mode, which resulted in the achievement,” Reddy said.

District Lead Bank Manager R Pandiselvan added that 1,90,544 beneficiaries have been enrolled under the programme in the current fiscal.

Pondy tops social progress index:

Puducherry, Lakshadweep and Goa have emerged as best-performing among all states and Union Territories in the Social Progress Index (SPI), while Jharkhand and Bihar as worst, according to a report mandated by the Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister (EAC-PM). According to the report, Puducherry has the highest SPI score of 65.99 in the country.