New Delhi, November 18
Finance Minister Arun Jaitley has called for increasing savings and using small savings schemes like Kisan Vikas Patras (KVPs) instead of privately run risky ponzi schemes.

Speaking at the re-launch of the Kisan Vikas Patra (KVP), the Finance Minister said in the past few years due to slower rate of economic growth, the rate of domestic savings had come below 30% while it had once touched the peak of 36.8%.

Stressing the need for raising the domestic rate of savings, Jaitley said the people need to be careful from privately run ponzi schemes which are both unsafe and risky even though offering little higher rate of interest. He said this many times also results in loss of their hard-earned income. He said they may rather go for the government-run small savings schemes which are safe, simple and easy to access.

On the (KVPs) launched today, he said this would also give a direction to bank and unbanked savings of the people and the scheme is open to everyone, including the farmers.

He said that investment in KVPs would become double in 100 months and initially this scheme would be operated through post offices but later would be operated through banks as well.

Earlier speaking on the occasion, Telecom Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said there is a special attachment to KVPs especially of the poor people and farmers. He said it is not only an instrument of savings but the farmers have also an emotional attachment with it. He said he did not understand why this scheme was discontinued.

He said the Postal Department and small savings are linked together for years and there are more than 30.08 crore postal account holders in the country and more than 60 small saving schemes are being operated through the Postal Department. He said there were many postal centres in the country which can be best suited for implementing the programmes relating to financial inclusion, especially in the rural areas. He added that there is a need for the Postal Department to reincarnate itself in a new format to meet the changing needs of the people at large.

The re-launched KVPs will be available to the investors in the denomination of Rs 1,000, 5,000, 10,000 and 50,000, with no upper ceiling on investment. The certificates can be issued in single or joint names and can be transferred from one person to any other person/persons, multiple times.

The facility of transfer from one post office to another anywhere in India and of nomination will also be available. The certificate can also be pledged as security to avail loans from the banks and in other case where security is required to be deposited.

Kisan Vikas Patras have unique liquidity feature, where an investor can, if he so desires, encash his certificates after the lock-in period of two years and six months and thereafter in any block of six months on pre-determined maturity value. 

New Delhi, November 18
Reliance Jio Infocomm today said it has signed syndicated term loan facilities worth $1.5 billion (Rs 9,270 crore) to refinance similar debt taken in 2010 by parent company Reliance Industries to acquire Infotel Broadband which was subsequently renamed Reliance Jio.

Under the latest programme, guaranteed by Reliance Industries, the telecommunication company that has yet to launch services has tied up for $1 billion of loans maturing in 5.5 years and another $500 million for 7-year tenure.

As many as 26 banks, including those from North America, Europe, Australia, Asia and the Middle-East participated in the facility.

The mandated lead arrangers and book-runners for the facilities included Australia and New Zealand Banking Group, Bank of America, Barclays Bank, BNP Paribas, Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ, Citigroup Global Markets, Credit Agricole Corporate and Investment Bank, DBS Bank, Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation, Royal Bank of Scotland, Standard Chartered Bank and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp.

New Delhi, November 18
Around Rs 5,400 crore have been deposited in banks in over seven crore bank accounts opened under Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana of which 74% accounts are with zero balance, according to an RTI reply.

The data provided by Department of Financial Services says that as on November 7, 2014 a total of 7.1 crore bank accounts have been opened of which 5.3 crore were accounts with 'Zero balance'.

The reply provided to activist Subhash Agrawal said as on November 7, the total balance in these accounts was Rs 5,482 crore. Majority of these accounts, over 4.2 crore, have been opened in rural areas, whereas in urban areas 2.9 crore have been opened.

The highest number of accounts, under the scheme, has been opened by SBI which started over 1.2 crore new accounts followed by Bank of Baroda which opened 38 lakh accounts and Canara Bank 37 lakh accounts, it said. — PTI

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