RBI, the apex bank of the country conducts Financial Literacy Week annually to   promote awareness on key topics of this important   subject through focused campaigns. The broad  aim behind the initiative is to create financial awareness among bank customers about financial products and services, good financial practices and digitisation. This year’s theme was ‘Farmers’ with core aim of integrating the often overlooked farming community with the mainstream financial channels. In state it was observed too  last week by Apex Bank   sponsored by NABARD and APRO with   focus on   responsible borrowing guidelines  such as benefits of repaying loans on time, improving credit score and simplified mode of availing agricultural finance. But among the host of aspects during the week-long programme it was perhaps the Kisan Credit Card which deserves an extra attention  particularly in the context of Arunachal Pradesh  as it provides a single window for all crop production, investment & allied activities and cashless money transfer from one account to another through mobile phone or internet. For the state’s farmers, there can’t be anything better if such card(s) can be availed which will among other things, save a good amount of   time required in case of monetary transactions.

Financial inclusion, if viewed in overall commercial context of country is an area which is still at developing stage since large areas are still waiting to be included within formal banking network. But  it can’t be denied that India is an agriculture-dominated country with around 70 percent of its population depending directly or indirectly on it and majority  of them  cannot the avail the intended benefits of financial services. Financial inclusion in general and with innovative models in particular, is thus an essential requirement for farmers as it helps in increasing their regular savings along with   generating encouragement  to pay for crop insurance and obtain credit.

And for small and marginal farmers in rural areas an innovative instrument like the Kisan Credit Card is really a boon. It was found that farmers had to heavily rely on non-institutional credit sources for their farming needs which entailed lengthy and cumbersome processes discouraging farmers from approaching them besides the routine exploitation by informal or unorganized lending market. With this reality at the background, KCC was launched to guarantee availability of sufficient, timely and cost-effective funds in a hassle-free manner.

In this context it will be relevant to point out that for attaining the core goals of these rural-centric and farmer-friendly instruments, which thrives largely on digital platforms, without a robust internet connectivity it will be well-nigh impossible.

Financial literacy spearheaded by these novel schemes can bring real changes in lives of the state’s farmers only if encouraged and embraced with consistency.