New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday launched two customer-centric schemes with a view to strengthen financial inclusion by ensuring participation of small retail investors in the government securities market as well as to improve grievance redressal mechanism.
The launch of these two schemes — Reserve Bank's Retail Direct Scheme and Integrated Ombudsman Scheme — will expand investment opportunities in the country and ensure easier access to capital markets with simple and secure mechanism, he said while launching schemes through video conferencing.
At the same time, he said, Retail Direct Scheme will also help in garnering funds for development works.
Retail Direct Scheme has given small investors in the country a simple and safe medium of investment in government securities. Similarly, One Nation, One Ombudsman System has taken shape in the banking sector with the Integrated Ombudsman Scheme today, he said.
The Integrated Ombudsman Scheme seeks to merge other ombudsman schemes making it a One Nation, One Ombudsman System for the entire financial sector.
Observing that one of the biggest touchstones of any democracy is the strength of its grievance redressal system, he said, the Integrated Ombudsman Scheme will go a long way in that direction.
"Similarly, the Retail Direct Scheme will give strength to the inclusion of everyone in the economy as it will bring in the middle class, employees, small businessmen and senior citizens with their small savings directly and securely in government securities. As government securities have the provision of guaranteed settlement, this gives assurance of safety to the small investor," he said.
Stressing that a strong banking system is essential for an economy, Modi said the government has taken several measures to strengthen the financial health of the public sector banks.