With a large number of branches operating at the village level, the Goa State Co-operative Bank has been trying its best to reach out to everyone in the State. Ulhas B Phaldessai, Chairman of the Bank,tells Manish Arora of Elets News Network (ENN) that in the coming days, his organisation will undertake several technology initiatives to further improve its services
Ulhas B Phaldessai,
Chairman of the Bank
Give us a brief background of the Goa State Cooperative Bank.
On 7th November 1963, the Goa State Co-operative Bank Ltd was founded as an apex financing agency in the co-operative sector in the Union Territory of Goa, Daman & Diu with S. Khushaldas as its first Chairman.
The Bank was initially set up to help the members in distress. Its objective was to provide finance to the needy members in the then Union Territory of Goa, Daman & Diu and help improve their financial health. The Bank offers more interest on deposits and easier loan facility to agricultural and allied activities.
The Bank also offers various loan schemes like urban loans, consumer loans, loan against gold, loan against NSC, non-agricultural loan,loan for weddings of dependent members of a family, loan for repayment of debt, loan to meet expenses of medical treatment, etc., apart from the loans to fulfill the dreams and desires of the members.
Which other areas the Goa State Cooperative Bank is active in?
We are primarily focussed to providing financial assistance to the agriculture sector, as also for land allotment. Besides, we also fund small entrepreneurs for commercial projects and small industries.
Secondly, we provide services to the Government of Goa. Schemes introduced by the government under the Dayanand Suraksha Scheme are financed by us at the village level. We also provide crop loans at lower interest rates to the farmers.
What are the latest technology measures implemented by your organisation?
We have developed our own data centre in the Bank with all types of facilities. ATM facility, mobile banking, internet banking and CBS system – all of these are in place, thanks to an improved connectivity in Goa.
We have around 58 branches in Goa, with most of them being located in the rural areas. The latest system of RuPay debit cards, announced by the Government of India, has also been introduced for the benefit of everyone at the village level.
We have already tested our software for implementing financial inclusion at the Panchayat level. All types of bill payments and mobile recharge services are provided at the village level, so that they do not face any problems in getting services. We have sourced our software from a company called Info Dynamic.
We have around 58 branches in Goa,with most of them being located in the rural areas. The latest system of RuPay debit cards,announced by the Government of India, has also been introduced for the benefit of every one at the village level
How important are mobile services these days?
Mobile services and internet services now a days have become a need of all citizens, especially the youth, who need these services more than any other segment of the society. We have introduced mobile banking and internet services,so that our consumers do not need to visit the branches for every small work. The acceptanc eof these devices among the consumers has been really good. We are continuously working to improve the mobile and internet services to the benefit of people at the village level.
Have you undertaken any initiatives under the Pradhan Mantri Jan-Dhan Yojana(PMJDY)?
Under the PMJDY introduced by the Government of India, we have already opened thousands of accounts and we are trying to implement it across the villages of Goa. We are also educating the village people about these initiatives launched by the Government of Goa as well as the Government of India.
Please share some of the initiatives the Goa State Cooperative Bank plans to undertake in the coming days.
We want to provide maximum services to all the people across the State, as we are the only bank that provides loan to village people. So, we are improving services for the people, to make it easy for them to use our banking services. This is one plan that we will be pursuing very aggressively in the coming days.
Next, we are also in the process of improving our technology infrastructure, so that services as well as banking connectivity get a boost throughout the State of Goa.