Pulwama attack: SBI creates UPI facility for donations

New Delhi: In a noble initiative, the State Bank of India (SBI) has enabled a Unified Payment Interface (UPI)-led payment gateway for 'Bharat Ke Veer' to help people make contributions easily. The decision has been taken to help the dependents of 40 CRPF martyrs who lost their lives in the worst-ever Pulwama terror attack.

The SBI has communicated about the initiative through its official Twitter handle that anyone can help the families of the CRPF victims by contributing through 'Bharat Ke Veer'.

"Let's all come together to make a difference, through the #BharatKeVeer initiative by the government of India. You can help the bereaved families by contributing at bharatkeveer.gov.in or through UPI using VPA- bharatkeveer@sbi," SBI said in a tweet.

All the CRPF soldiers have been the customers of the SBI under Defence Salary Package under which the bank had provided insurance of Rs 30 lakh to each of the defence personnel, SBI said in an official statement.

The SBI, which is the country's largest bank by assets and customers, announced on Monday that the bank is taking steps to expedite the release of insurance money to the next kin of martyred soldiers.

Notably, the 'Bharat Ke Veer' initiative was launched in April 2017 by the Ministry of Home Affairs with the purpose of enabling citizens to help the families of soldiers by donating money online. Commenting on the initiative, SBI Chairman Rajnish Kumar said, "It is extremely distressing and disturbing to witness the loss of lives of the soldiers who always stand for the safety of our country. In this moment of grief, our sincere thoughts are with the families of our brave hearts."

"These initiatives by the bank are a small gesture towards the families who have faced irreparable loss" Kumar further said.