the key to our financial inclusion efforts. technology needs to be leveraged both for improving access to financial services and for bringing down the cost of providing these services. as a starting point, we have insisted that all bank branches including rrbs should be on cbs. we have encouraged a multi - channel approach including mobiles, hand held devices, smart cards, micro - atms, kiosks, etc for providing financial services. however, the frontend devices need to be seamlessly integrated with bank cbs systems. coverage a village is considered to be covered by banking service if either a bank branch is present or a bc is physically present or visiting that village. bis central bankers ’ speeches availability availability of banking services means availability of a minimum of four products i ) a basic savings bank deposit account ( formerly termed as no - frills account ) with overdraft facility. ii ) a remittance product for electronic benefit transfer and other remittances. iii ) a pure savings product, ideally a recurring or a variable recurring deposit. iv ) entrepreneurial credit such as general credit card, kisan credit card. challenges to social banking the concept of social banking, despite its inherent merits, faces several significant challenges in the process of scaling up. an efficient business / delivery model that is capable of delivering banking services to the masses in a cost effective manner is yet to be implemented by banks. while several delivery models have been experimented with, the same has not yet stabilized. similarly, several alternate technology options are being tried out. however, the alternative that would be able to handle high volume low value transactions, cost efficiently, is yet to be crystallized. banks also have to refine their pricing practices in order to ensure that the basic goal of social orientation is maintained while ensuring viability and sustainability of social banking initiatives. sensitization of bank ’ s manpower on their role in implementing the bank ’ s social banking measures is also a significant challenge as the rationale and guiding spirit behind the initiatives need to be conveyed to the operational staff on the ground. this is of utmost importance as they serve as the frontline contact of the bank with the target groups and hence, are a vital cog in the implementation of bank ’ s social banking initiatives. besides being technologically conversant with the innovative platforms being adopted by banks, the staff needs to have a behavioural orientation that grooms them to empathise with the vulnerable groups and gain their confidence. the way forward with the introduction

for most financial products / services in india remains low. indian banks can sustain their structural high growth trajectory, driven by an under - penetrated financial - services sector, a conducive economic environment and a supportive regulatory regime. financial penetration holds the key to financial inclusion and inclusive growth. favorable demographics would be a facilitating factor. way forward, financial penetration is expected to rise as banks expand into new areas, focus on building their retail business and strengthen their risk - management system. conclusion to sum up, while global banking developments have offered innumerable perspectives, important perceptions are emerging from the indian banking developments. given the long term objective of achieving 9. 0 per cent of gdp growth, we need to understand that there are significant challenges for indian banking. of these, the major challenge would be to achieve financial inclusion through improved financial penetration in hitherto uncovered areas, which in turn would enable inclusive and sustainable growth for the economy. we all have to put our minds together and continually strive towards achieving this in the days ahead. the question currently on top of the minds of most bankers present here would be : what will be the shape of banking in days to come? will banks do business differently? what are the changes that are likely to take place? the answer to these questions may come out from some serious deliberations in the next few days and before arriving at any conclusion in this regard, we certainly have to explore many options. the only thing that can be said at this juncture is that regulation may become tighter and supervision more controlled. other than that, it is difficult to say whether there will be any fundamental change in the way banks work. i am sure that the discussions, case studies, panel discussions, ceo round table planned during the ibss sessions, which have been woven around topics of contemporary relevance like, understanding the reasons for the global financial system melt down ; changing contours of risk ; understanding the role of it and risk management system and discussion on arriving at coping strategies ; new frontiers of banking ; emergence of “ inclusive ” banking, etc. will bring out some useful insights and out of box creative and innovative ideas from the market players to deal with the present complex situation. this will also help in creating an enabling environment for an overall balanced economic growth of the world economy. i wish you all the best and the 62nd ibss deliberations a grand success. thank you. select reference bank for international settlements ( 2009 ), “ 79th annual report ”, 1