IPPB: Bankrolling the union?

Abstract

Given the possibility of leveraging the formidable network at its disposal, this looks like a model that has a hope of surviving. n September 1, Prime Minister Narendra Modi freshly launched the India Post Payments Bank (IPPB), which was already functioning on a pilot basis in a few districts. It has been packaged as a path-breaking initiative, but chances are its incremental impact will be limited. If the objective was to make a big push towards greater financial inclusion of Indian citizens, it would have been better to plan for a universal bank. India Post did apply for a universal bank licence, and this was also contained in the T.S.R. Subramanian committee report, but neither the government nor the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) was favourably inclined. One wonders if it was, then, a Freudian slip when the prime minister in his inauguration speech said that the postman would now be giving loans. Read more at: https://www.indiatoday.in/magazine/up-front/story/20180917-ippb-bankrolling-the-union-1334581-2018-09-07