Indian Postal Banking has lots of scope due to connectivity, says Communications Minister
Even with widespread retail banking in place, India’s postal banking service has a large scope due to its connectivity, stressed Communications and IT Minister, Ravi Shankar Prasad on Wednesday (October 29). Prasad was inaugurating the Postal Savings Banks Forum in New Delhi, which was organised by World Savings and Retail Banking Institute (WSBI) jointly with the National Savings Organisation (Ministry of Finance) and the Department of Posts. The theme of the forum was “The Rising Force of Postal Banking in the Retail Banking Market”. According to a statement by the Press Information Bureau of India, post offices hold 1.6 billion savings and deposit accounts globally, which is second to commercial banks that hold about 2.5 billion accounts. Prasad said that postal banking transcended the rich and poor barrier, the biggest asset being the network of post offices throughout the country. “The asset, ladies and gentlemen, to my understanding is connectivity. In I