Jyotindra Mehta, President of Nafcub- the apex national body of urban cooperative bank in the country has underscored the need for technological modernization of banks in the state and is eager to seize the attractive offer being given by RBI of late.
Speaking on the sidelines of UCBs summit in Ahmedabad Mehta said nearly 50% of urban co-operative banks (UCBs) in Gujarat will offer their account holders net and mobile banking facilities by the end of 2016.
The RBI communication mailed by Mehta to Indian Cooperative read “RBI has decided to prescribe standards and benchmarks for CBS in UCBs and provide financial assistance and technology support through Institute for Development and Research in Banking Technology (IDRBT) to those UCBs who have partially implemented CBS or are yet to implement CBS.
Accordingly, a scheme for providing financial assistance to UCBs for implementation of CBS has been formulated in consultation with IDRBT and would be implemented by IDRBT/Indian Financial Technology and Allied Services (IFTAS) (a subsidiary of IDRBT).
The initial set up cost of Rs 4 lakh will be paid by Reserve Bank of India to IFTAS. Thereafter, the recurring cost of Rs 15,000 per branch per month will be borne by the UCB.
UCBs not operating under directions u/s 35A of the BR Act, 1949 (AACS) and which have not implemented/partially implemented CBS will be eligible for financial assistance under the scheme. Such UCBs may approach IDRBT/IFTAS for availing benefits under the scheme.
There are 18 district co-operative banks (DCBs) and 235 UCBs in the state of Gujarat with over 1.5 crore customers. Over 28 lakh farmers are also involved with credit societies in the state.
The co-operative banks in the state have Rs 40,000 crore in deposits and Rs 30,000 crore in advances. The UCBs alone have deposits worth Rs 36,600 crore and advances to the tune of Rs 23,000 crore. The UCBs have 91 lakh account holders, 30 lakh members and six lakh borrowers.