Stating that he hails from a family of bankers, the President said that fintech has done a huge job during the COVID-19 pandemic to settle transactions. file | Photo Credit: PTI
President Draupadi Murmu on March 28 said that to ensure economic progress, banks need to strike the right balance between wealth creation and protecting people’s money.
Speaking at a UCO Bank event in Kolkata, the President said that if this balance upsets, there would be a problem, which could hamper the development process.
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“The first responsibility of banks is to protect people’s money. The second important aspect of banks is wealth creation. This balance has to be maintained, and if it gets disturbed there will be economic problems,” Ms. Murmu said.
Stating that he hails from a family of bankers, the President said that fintech has done a huge job during the COVID-19 pandemic to settle transactions.
“Fintech has helped in establishing social equality. UPI [Unified Payments Interface] Has also helped in building the country’s digital infrastructure and settling transactions during the years of the pandemic.
The President virtually inaugurated 50 branches of UCO Bank in 18 states of the country.
He also laid the foundation stone for the reconstruction of a school in Odisha where the President once worked as a teacher.
West Bengal Minister of State for Finance Chandrima Bhattacharya said that the state is making all out efforts to implement financial inclusion among the people.
He said the state administration is running ‘Laxmi Bhandar’, the country’s biggest social security programme, while another initiative ‘Duare Sarkar’ (Government at Home) is organized to extend government services to the people.
Under the ‘Lakshmi Bhandar’ scheme, financial assistance is to be provided to the eligible families of the state.
He said that the MSME sector in the state has been given a loan of about Rs 1.14 lakh crore, while self-help groups have received a loan of Rs 20,000 crore from the banking sector.
SS Prasad, managing director and chief executive officer of UCO Bank, said that the lender made the highest ever net profit by the end of December 2022, while the current business stood at Rs 4 lakh crore.
He added that the bank has also increased its market capitalisation, which has benefited its shareholders.