MUMBAI: The
postal department has surpassed the country's largest lender, SBI, in
terms of digital connectivity even before its payments bank launch,
Union IT and Communications Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad today said.
"The core
banking solution (CBS) or digital connectivity of the postal department
has surpassed the State Bank of India's digital connectivity," Prasad
said at a special session on the third day of the ongoing Make in India
week here.
There are over
1.50 lakh post offices across the country, of which 1.25 lakh are in
rural areas, and the department had embarked on CBS connectivity a few
years ago.
The department is all set to launch a payments bank by March 2017.
SBI Chairman Arundhati Bhattacharya had in the past expressed reservations about the entry of payments banks.
The postal
department has got in-principle nod to start a payments bank, along with
10 other players, including corporate houses like the Mahindras, the
Birlas, Reliance Industries and telecom firms with a deeper distribution
network such as Bharti Airtel.
The successful
applicants have been given 18 months to start operations. They are
required to present a final plan of operation to the Reserve Bank of
India before final nod.
Speaking at the
special session on IT and electronics, Prasad appealed all to invest
more in the country, saying India will be a USD 1 trillion opportunity
for digital companies in five years.
He elaborated
that electronics will be a USD 350 billion industry while IT, IT-enabled
services and e-commerce would bring in USD 350 billion and USD 250
billion for the communication sector.
The minister
said electronics and IT manufacturing are also crucial for the success
of flagship programmes such as Start-up India and Digital India.
He listed consumer, defence, automobile and medical electronics as the sub-sectors full with opportunities.
Prasad sees the target of having 500 million Internet users advancing by one year to 2016-end instead of 2017.
In the same
vein, the minister said he is sensitive to the demand on the skilling
front and added that over 1,200 doctoral candidates in 80 select
universities will be benefiting under a special scheme.
Source: newindianexpress.com
No comments:
Post a Comment