as you have just seen in the film clip, over the past one year, we celebrated the platinum jubilee in diverse ways. the flagship of our celebrations, one which will possibly have the most enduring value, has been the outreach programme. the outreach programme was focussed on taking forward the twin pillars of financial inclusion and financial literacy. the motivation behind this venture was for the rbi, as an institution, to connect with ordinary people of the country. the odyssey took all of us, our deputy governors, executive directors and myself, to villages across the country, typically off - main road, away from urban influence, unbanked villages, to see and understand how grassroots institutions – self - help women ’ s groups, micro - finance institutions, non - government organizations, rural cooperatives, rural branches of regional and mainstream commercial banks – operate, and to listen first - hand to the hopes and aspirations of village india. in return, we also got an opportunity to explain to people what the reserve bank does, and how what we do touches their everyday life. 11. i can claim, indeed i do so with pride, that we visited at least one village in every state of the country and most union territories. given that india has over 600, 000 habitations, our coverage was admittedly miniscule. even so, it has been a wonderful experience – intellectually rewarding, emotionally fulfilling and professionally mind - expanding. 12. during my own outreach visits to villages in several states, i was impressed by the self - confidence of self - help group women, the enthusiasm of rural girls for education and their growing aspirations for a better quality of life. in many ways, the outreach programme has been a reality check on the design and implementation of the reserve bank ’ s policies, and it has reinforced our institutional commitment to addressing the challenge and opportunity of financial inclusion. 13. as part of the outreach programme, we also conducted quiz contests and debating competitions in schools and colleges in various parts of the country to spread the message of financial literacy and to explain the role and responsibilities of the reserve bank. in addition, the top management of the reserve bank participated in a couple of town hall events that were aired on television, fielding questions from ordinary people. the idea once again was to understand the concerns of india ’ s growing middle class, and in turn demystify the reserve bank to them. challenges on the way forward 14. a platinum jubilee is a chronological milestone, an occasion for celebration ; but it

njuguna ndung ’ u : the advantages of mobile phone banking services remarks by prof njuguna ndung ’ u, governor of the central bank of kenya, at the launch of the family bank ’ s mobile phone banking services, nairobi, 3 june 2010. * * * mr. titus k. muya, chairman of the board of directors, family bank ltd., mr. peter kinyanjui, chief executive officer, family bank ltd., board members, family bank ltd, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen, i am privileged to be here this morning on the occasion of the launch of family bank ’ s mobile phone banking services. today marks yet another milestone on family bank ’ s growth trajectory and also another important innovation in the banking products that enlarge the range of financial services. i therefore feel honoured to have been invited to launch this product. it would not have been possible for us to assemble here and witness the rolling out of this product into the market without the wise stewardship of the board and management of the bank. i therefore salute the board, management and staff of family bank on the introduction of the mobile phone banking services that we shall be launching this morning. i have been informed that these mobile banking services dubbed “ pesa pap ” have been made possible through the use of the safaricom m - pesa platform. on this note, i salute safaricom for having partnered with several banks in providing innovations that will not only enhance access to financial services but also the growth of commerce in both the rural and urban markets. in his madaraka speech to the nation, h. e. the president, hon. mwai kibaki particularly singled out the innovation in information technology and the support it has provided to mobile phone money transfer services – as leading innovations in the world. the world bank ’ s doing business report on access to credit places kenya at 4th position of 183 countries. allow me to mention that the pesa pap product being rolled out today is a consolidation of three products with key distinct features as follows : the m - pesa super - agency providing electronic value to safaricom agents countrywide will be of benefit in terms of improving m - pesa availability in the market and ensuring m - pesa agents maintain optimum levels of float. bulk value payments through m - pesa will allow bulk remittance of payments including salaries and loan disbursements to employees, borrowers and agricultural farmers and the ; m