(a) whether the Government has fixed any target of enabling post offices for digital payments by April, 2018 through India Post Payments Bank (IPPB);
(b) if so, the details thereof and the action taken by the Government in this regard so far; and
(c) the number of active account holders of post office savings bank at present and the number of account holders likely to be added to this scheme through IPPB?
THE MINISTER OF STATE (IC) OF THE MINISTRY OF COMMUNICATIONS &
MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS
(SHRI MANOJ SINHA)
(a) Yes Madam, India Post Payments Bank aims to have a pan-India reach (650 branches co-located at District Headquarter Post Offices) by April 2018. These 650 branches will serve as controlling offices to service/monitor all the 1.55 lakh post offices (approximately) which will act as last mile access points.
(b) Branch readiness in identified 650 branches is underway in terms of civil/electrical works, furniture/fixtures & technology setup. Apart from that recruitment of personnel is also being undertaken and so far 528 Managers (approximately) have been onboarded.
(c) The number of active account holders of post office savings bank as on date 31.01.2018 is enclosed at Annexure-I. It is anticipated that India Post Payments Bank is likely to acquire approximately 8 crore customers in a span of five years from its launch. This figure is subject to market forces in the area of Digital Payments in the country over the next few years.
Annexure -I
No of Live Accounts as on 31.01.2018
<pre>
CIRCLE Total no. of live accounts (all types) as on month under report (Excluding NREGA)
Andhra Pradesh 31139943
Telengana 17123551
A.P.S 569919
Assam 8699186
Bihar 26167603
Chhattisgarh 4396057
Delhi 2782295
Gujarat 16871282
Haryana 6147419
Himachal Pradesh 5417346
Jammu and Kashmir 1824225
Jharkhand 12359067
Karnataka 16759941
Kerala 13125926
Madhya Pradesh 24381810
Maharashtra 29140927
NorthEast 2352345
Odisha 13778989
Punjab 6210152
Rajasthan 18076237
Tamil Nadu 25980365
Uttar Pradesh 38140991
Uttarakhand 6161882
West Bengal 27688708
Total 355296166
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