Lok Sabha Question No. 2010 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2018-03-07
Subject: Digital Payment in Post Offices
Ministry: COMMUNICATIONS
Asked by: RAMDAS CHANDRABHANJI TADAS, CHANDRA PRAKASH JOSHI

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF COMMUNICATIONS DEPARTMENT OF POSTS

## LOK  SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2010 TO BE ANSWERED ON 7 th  MARCH, 2018

## DIGITAL PAYMENT IN POST OFFICES

†2010. SHRI RAMDAS C. TADAS:

SHRI CHANDRA PRAKASH JOSHI:

Will the Minister of COMMUNICATIONS be pleased to state:

- (a) whether the Government has fixed any target of enabling post offices for digital payments by April, 2018 through India Post Payments Bank (IPPB);
- (b) if so, the details thereof and the action taken by the Government in this regard so far; and
- (c) the number of active account holders of post office savings bank at present and the number of account holders likely to be added to this scheme through IPPB?

## ANSWER

## THE MINISTER OF STATE (IC) OF THE MINISTRY OF COMMUNICATIONS & MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS (SHRI MANOJ SINHA)

- (a) Yes  Madam,  India  Post  Payments  Bank  aims  to  have  a  pan-India  reach  (650 branches  co-located  at  District  Headquarter  Post  Offices)  by  April  2018.  These  650 branches will serve as controlling offices to service/monitor all the 1.55 lakh post offices (approximately) which will act as last mile access points.
- (b) Branch readiness in identified 650 branches is underway in terms of civil/electrical works, furniture/fixtures & technology setup. Apart from that recruitment of personnel is also being undertaken and so far 528 Managers (approximately) have been onboarded.
- (c) The  number  of  active  account  holders  of  post  office  savings  bank  as  on  date 31.01.2018 is enclosed at Annexure-I. It is anticipated that India Post Payments Bank is likely to acquire approximately 8 crore customers in a span of five years from its launch. This figure is subject to market forces in the area of Digital Payments in the country over the next few years.

## No of Live Accounts as on 31.01.2018

| CIRCLE            |   Total no. of live accounts (all types) as on month under report (Excluding NREGA) |
|-------------------|-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| Andhra Pradesh    |                                                                            31139943 |
| Telengana         |                                                                            17123551 |
| A.P.S             |                                                                              569919 |
| Assam             |                                                                             8699186 |
| Bihar             |                                                                            26167603 |
| Chhattisgarh      |                                                                             4396057 |
| Delhi             |                                                                             2782295 |
| Gujarat           |                                                                            16871282 |
| Haryana           |                                                                             6147419 |
| Himachal Pradesh  |                                                                             5417346 |
| Jammu and Kashmir |                                                                             1824225 |
| Jharkhand         |                                                                            12359067 |
| Karnataka         |                                                                            16759941 |
| Kerala            |                                                                            13125926 |
| Madhya Pradesh    |                                                                            24381810 |
| Maharashtra       |                                                                            29140927 |
| NorthEast         |                                                                             2352345 |
| Odisha            |                                                                            13778989 |
| Punjab            |                                                                             6210152 |
| Rajasthan         |                                                                            18076237 |
| Tamil Nadu        |                                                                            25980365 |
| Uttar Pradesh     |                                                                            38140991 |
| Uttarakhand       |                                                                             6161882 |
| West Bengal       |                                                                            27688708 |
| Total             |                                                                           355296166 |

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