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Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said, more than one lakh depositors have got their money back in the last few days that was stuck for years, amounting to over 1,300 crore rupees. Mr. Modi was addressing a function on “Depositors First: Guaranteed Time-bound Deposit Insurance Payment up to 5 lakh rupees” in New Delhi on Sunday.
He stressed that the spirit of ‘Depositors First’ is very meaningful. The Prime Minister said, any country can prevent the problems from getting worse only by timely resolution of them. He pointed out that earlier, there was a tendency to avoid problems but today’s new India strives for resolving problems and does not avoid them.
Mr Modi informed that in India, the system of insurance for bank depositors came into being in the 60s. Earlier, out of the amount deposited in the bank, only the amount up to 50 thousand rupees was guaranteed which was later raised to one lakh rupees. He said, there was no time limit on when this money would be paid. The Prime Minister said that understanding the concern of the poor and the middle-class people, the government has increased this amount to five lakh rupees. He said, earlier that there was no time limit for refund, but now his government has made it mandatory within 90 days.
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The Prime Minister remarked that banks play a major role in the prosperity of the country and for the prosperity of the banks, it is equally important for the depositors’ money to be safe. Mr Modi said that there are many such reforms that have helped India’s banking system run smoothly even in the biggest calamity in 100 years. He elaborated that when even the developed countries of the world were struggling to provide help to their citizens, India provided direct help to almost every section of the country at a faster pace.
The Prime Minister said, measures taken in the last few years have taken the facilities like insurance, bank loans and financial empowerment to a large underserved segment of the poor, women, street vendors and small farmers. He said that more than half of the crores of bank accounts opened under Jan Dhan Yojana belong to women. He said, the effect, which these bank accounts have on the economic empowerment of women, have also been seen in the recent National Family Health Survey.
Speaking on the occasion, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitaraman said that under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi government has shown a commitment to the depositors. She said, depositors and their interest has been kept high on agenda. Mrs Sitaraman said, today is an important day for depositors and banking history of the country.
Reserve Bank of India Governor Shaktikanta Das said, ‘depositors first’ is the guiding philosophy of RBI in all its actions and policies. He said, deposit Insurance facility in the country has come a long way. Mr. Das said, the payment of the deposit insurance amount should be seen as the last resort. He said, depositors also need to be discerning and they should keep in mind that higher rates of interest are usually associated with higher risk. RBI is always proactive to straighten all guidelines to protect depositors interest.