Guwahati, April 12 (Representative) Need for a strong banking system and financial inclusion are among the key pre-requisites for the overall development of a state or region, said eminent participants at the UNI Conclave 2022 here on Tuesday. Taking part in a panel discussion on `Role of Banking and Microfinance Institute in North Eastern Region’ Rajya Sabha Member of Parliament from Assam Pabitra Margherita highlighted the importance of banking system for the overall development of a state. North Eastern Development Finance Corporation Ltd (NEDFi) Chairman PVSLN Murty, State Bank of India (SBI) General Manager Suranjana Dutta, Deputy General Manager at NABARD Walter Kujur, Dr Abhijit Sharma, Associate Professor of Indian Institute of Banking Management (IIBM) and Bidyananda Borkakoty, Adviser to North East Tea Association attended the Conclave.
While NEDFI Chairman PVSLN Murty stressed the need for the state specific schemes to boost the development of the region, SBI General Manager Ms Dutta talked about the vast reach of the bank in the region. Ms Dutta stressed the need for increasing the financial literacy among the marginalised and poor people to reap the benefit of financial inclusion. She said that under government flagship programme Jan Dhan Yojana nearly 2,000 accounts were being opened in the region on a daily basis. Dr Abhijit Sharma, Associate Professor of IIBM underscored the need of including local bodies in the delivery mechanism of banking service. NABARD DGM Kujur spoke about the various initiatives the development bank has undertaken for seamless credit facility to the farmers of the region. The UNI conclave has been organised in the North East for the first time. Ajay Kaul, Editor-in-Chief, United News of India (UNI) in his address said that the agency will organise many more such events in other states of the region concerning the development of the last mile people.