State Bank of India (SBI) is the largest bank in India and has been a leader in financial inclusion in the country. With a network of over 25,000 branches and 76,000 business correspondents, SBI has opened over 14.69 crore basic savings bank deposit accounts (BSBDA) with deposits worth ₹50,091 crore through its network of business correspondents and service points channels.
- SBI has the highest share (28%) of the 492 million accounts opened under the Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY), which aims at financial inclusion of every household in the country. The PMJDY is a government-led initiative to provide financial services to the unbanked and underserved segments of the population. SBI has played a key role in the success of the PMJDY, opening more accounts than any other bank in the country.
- The bank is now providing loan facilities to account holders with small businesses, based on the balance in their accounts. This initiative, called the Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana (PMMY), provides loans to small businesses with a credit requirement of up to ₹10 lakh. SBI is the largest lender under the PMMY, having disbursed over ₹3 lakh crore in loans to small businesses.
- SBI is also the biggest bank in terms of customer enrolment for government-sponsored social security schemes. These schemes, such as the Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana (PMJJBY) and the Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana (PMSBY), provide life insurance and accident insurance coverage to low-income families. SBI has enrolled over 100 million customers for these schemes.
- The bank’s vast network of business correspondents (BCs)/customer service points (CSPs) has helped it to reach unbanked and remote areas. BCs/CSPs are local agents who provide banking services on behalf of banks. They are located in rural and semi-urban areas, where there may not be a bank branch. SBI has over 76,000 BCs/CSPs, which helps it to reach millions of people who would otherwise not have access to banking services.
- In FY23, SBI introduced multiple banking facilities through its banking correspondent channel, including instant generation of accounts at CSP outlets and the ability to generate leads for six kinds of loans. The instant account generation facility allows customers to open a bank account in real time without going to a branch. The ability to generate leads for loans helps customers to get access to credit more easily.
SBI is committed to financial inclusion and has a number of initiatives in place to reach the unbanked and underserved segments of the population. The bank’s network of BCs/CSPs, its focus on social security schemes, and its innovative use of technology are all helping to make financial services more accessible to all Indians.
Keywords: State Bank of India, financial inclusion, PMJDY, business correspondents, customer service points, social security schemes, loan facilities, instant account generation, NEFT, IMPS, agri-gold loans, p-segment gold loans, Mudra loans