There were a few areas of concern that we were able to discern during our stay at the village.
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The biometric scanners which are meant to scan for fingerprints would invariably not work. The CSP and LDM explained that this may be because the fingertips of farmers and other rural poor are callused and do not align with the data stored on the system. We brought this issue to the notice of the bank managers we met. We were told that iris scanners are going to be installed soon.
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The savings bank accounts of women married at an age earlier than 18 would become deactivated when they obtained maturity; in which case, all the maternity related benefits would become unreachable to the intended recipients. It can be resolved quite easily, however, FIA Global is yet to deliver.
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The Panchayat was very keen to have a brick and mortar branch of any of the banks be set up within the village limits. Many users of bank facilities are old or diffident about travelling far to use the services. Although, the CSP is of some use, but availing credit facilities is still something of an enigma for most villagers. They have already created a brick and mortar facility for any bank branch to set up their business.
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Several villagers have been duped a few times into putting money into ponzi schemes where they have been shown fake RBI registrations, while they have been defrauded of their savings. A bank branch close at hand would definitely be a better option for them to park their savings.