Cabinet okays 80% hike in India Post Payments Bank spending

New Delhi: In a major shot in the arm of India Post Payments Bank (IPPB), the Cabinet on Wednesday approved an increase of 80 per cent in spending on IPPB to Rs 14.35 billion. The financial support has come just three days ahead of the nation-wide launch of the payments bank.

The additional outlay of Rs 635 crore is primarily on account of costs related to technology (Rs 4 billion) and human resources (Rs 2.35 billion), an official statement said after the Cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

IPPB services are slated for a nationwide launch by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi on September 1.

Meanwhile, while briefing the media about the IPPB launch by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, MoS for Communications (I/C) Manoj Sinha on Wednesday said that the launch of IPPB would significantly augment the reach and impact of the banking sector in the country.

Sinha further said, "The trusted postman will now become a banker to millions of unbanked and under-banked Indians who have so far had no access to financial services. With the launch of IPPB, number of bank branches in the country would get doubled from the present 1.40 lakh to more than 2.90 lakh. Similarly, the number of rural branches in the country will also increase from the current 49,000 to more than 1.75 lakh."

"The vision of IPPB is to build the most accessible, affordable and trusted bank for the common man, to spearhead the financial inclusion agenda of the government," Sinha said, adding that it will leverage the vast network of the Department of Posts, which covers every corner of the country with more than 300,000 postmen and Grameen Dak Sewaks, which will enable IPPB to bridge the last-mile gap in banking services.

Commenting on this, Postal Secretary AN Nanda said, "The IPPB account will provide DoP customers with a complete bouquet of banking services which they have never experienced before."