The member banks of State Level Bankers Committee (SLBC), Tamil Nadu, have identified Thoothukudi, Ranipet and Coimbatore districts to make them 100% digitally enabled.
In 2019, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), with a view to expanding and deepening the digital payments ecosystem, had advised the SLBCs to identify one district in their respective states on a pilot basis and allocate it to a bank with significant footprint to make the district 100% digitally enabled within a year. The move is to enable every individual in the district to make or receive payments digitally, the RBI said.
In 2019, the Tamil Nadu SLBC had identified Virudhunagar district on a pilot basis for the digital project. The initial timeline for completion of the 100% digitalization of Virudhunagar district was October 2020. However, it was extended up to March 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, according to minutes of a recent SLBC meeting.
It said as on August 31, 2021, the digital coverage under savings account was 94% and current account was 70.65% in Virudhunagar.
The SLBC said, based on the pilot project experience, the RBI has requested to extend the project to few other districts in Tamil Nadu. Post a feasibility assessment , the member banks of SLBC identified the three districts.
State Bank of India has selected Thoothukudi, Indian Bank has selected Ranipet and Canara Bank has selected Coimbatore district respectively for the digital district project.
