Poor show by SBI, 13 others in installing new ATMs: Finance Minister
New Delhi: Country's largest bank SBI and newest lender Bhartiya Mahila Bank figure in list of 14 public sector banks wherein progress has been adjudged by the Finance Ministry as "below average" in installing ATMs.
The government had given a target to the 27 state-owned banks to set up 19,994 ATMs in the current fiscal and by December end they have managed to cross the halfway mark (10,511). As per the Ministry's progress report on installation of ATMs for the December 2014 quarter, Canara Bank, Corporation Bank, IDBI Bank, SBB&J and State Bank of Patiala have been adjudged "good".
Except IDBI Bank, the other four had overshot the full fiscal target by December-end. The remaining banks "need to improve" so that they could meet the target planned for them for the fiscal ending March 2015.
Target for SBI was 500 new ATMs, but it installed only 218 by end of December quarter. Of these, 115 were set up in the three months period through December 2014. Bhartiya Mahila Bank was to install 100 ATMs, but it has put in place only 14 (7 were set up during December quarter).
The 27 government banks together had 1,18,082 ATMs across the country at end-December 2014. Meanwhile, the government and private banks together have opened over 12.54 crore accounts under the Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojna and about 11.08 crore Rupay Debit Cards issued to the beneficiaries.
