Indian private sector lender YES Bank has teamed up with the Maharashtra government to onboard ration shops as provider of basic banking services.
The initiative, conducted under Maharashtra government’s e-PDS state programme, will cover nearly 40% of the state’s fair price shops.
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Customers at these shops can make small-value cash deposits into any bank account including domestic remittances. Besides, they can make withdrawals from any bank account using Aadhaar Enabled Payment System.
The shops will also enable customers to make payments through AadhaarPay. At the same time, they will facilitate mobile recharges, bus or hotel bookings.
YES Bank chief digital officer Ritesh Pai said: “The Bank remains committed to improving last mile inclusion and translating financial access into enhanced convenience & usage for smoother delivery of Government to Citizen (G2C) services through simple digital solutions.”
The new service will be supported by more than 20,000 ration shops in 12 districts including Thane, Palghar, Pune, Kolhapur, and Latur.
Cabinet minister for food, civil supplies and consumer protection, food & drugs administration Girish Bapat said: “The pioneering ePDS digital initiative has helped us eliminate more than 10 lakh bogus ration cards in Maharashtra and made the inventory management for government and shop owners fully digital.
“ePDS initiative will also significantly boost the livelihood of shop owners by giving them additional revenue through the various services they can now offer to the citizens.”
