prerequisite to the implementation of the dbt, every eligible individual should have a bank account. further, to make disbursements at the doorstep through the ict - based bc model, banking outlets, either through brick & mortar branches or the branchless mode, are required in all villages across the country. for this to succeed, it is important that quality services are provided through the new ict - based bc outlets. therefore, an intermediary low - cost brick - and - mortar structure is required between the base branches and bc locations. this will provide timely support to bc outlets, ensure close supervision of bc operations and give them credibility and increase people ’ s confidence in bc services. hence, banks have been advised to plan for an increase in the proportion of branches that cover unbanked areas. banks have also been advised to consider setting up financial inclusion centres, which would act as centres exclusively focussing on customers serviced through bc ’ s. bis central bankers ’ speeches 21. to step up the opening of branches in rural areas, rbi has mandated banks to open at least 25 per cent of the branches in unbanked rural centres. to help facilitate in achieving this mandate, banks have been advised to open small intermediary brick and mortar structures between the base branch and the unbanked villages. the idea is to create an ecosystem for ensuring efficient delivery of services, efficiency in cash management, redressal of customer grievances and closer supervision of bc operations. to further encourage the banks in pursuing this mandate, banks have been advised to consider frontloading ( prioritizing ) the opening of branches in unbanked rural centres over a three year cycle coterminus with their fips. this is expected to facilitate quicker branch expansion in unbanked rural centres. 22. along with increasing brick and mortar presence through branch expansion, rbi has also encouraged banks to adopt other branchless modes such as bc outlets, other modes such as kiosks, off - site rural atms, mobile vans, etc. so as to resolve the last mile connectivity issues. enlarging the universe of bc ’ s 23. we have enlarged the universe of bcs as we go along and we have enabled the entry of for profit companies in 2010. we have done this as we want to leverage their well established distribution networks especially in the rural heart land for the extension of financial inclusion to reach the unreached. tapping technology platforms 24. to enable a successful financial inclusion, innovation of

transparency and communication ”. transparency broadly relates to the openness of a central bank in making explicit its monetary policy decisions and explaining the reasoning behind them. from a strategic perspective, it also encompasses clear communication of the longer - run objectives and strategy of monetary policy. through your insightful reporting, you actually help us operationalize our communication policy at the bsp. in the past, there has been a general view that central banks tended to operate with considerable secrecy and mystery. however, over the past decade or so, most central banks have moved towards increased transparency and greater communication in the conduct of monetary policy. a brief look at the developments in financial markets and the conduct of central banking in recent decades will show that this trend developed partly out of necessity. what are these developments? first, it has become increasingly clear over the last few decades that central banks need to have a considerable degree of independence to ensure consistency in the implementation of monetary policy over time. but along with a high degree of independence, central banks are required to be transparent to establish accountability. in effect, without transparency, nobody knows what an unelected bunch of central bankers do or commit to do. there is no basis for assessing their performance and accountability. as a parenthetical remark, let me say here, this principle of independence requiring transparency, leading to accountability, further leading to performance and commitment works well even in other areas, including the area of politics. second, financial markets have increasingly become globally interconnected such that monetary policy, whether good or bad, can be rapidly transmitted and thereby, impact on the behavior of market participants. it then becomes imperative for central banks to effectively communicate their actions to allow financial markets to figure out policy decisions. this is good for business and macroeconomic planning and promotes general stability. finally, inflation targeting, our monetary policy framework, is forward - looking, and the only way to establish accountability is to be transparent about the commitment to promote price stability. central banks, however, did not embrace transparency ( and necessarily communication ) only because they were forced to do so. increased transparency and greater communication have their benefits. it is in a central bank ’ s own interest to be transparent in its monetary policy actions. clearly communicating the level of price stability and the strategies to achieve it …. help to anchor the inflation expectations of the business sector and the public in general. what is the practice of the bsp in terms of transparency and external communication? in the past four years of the inflation targeting framework,