HT Correspondent DIMAPUR, Aug 23: Union Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman underscored the need for financial inclusion in the international border areas as the people living there are facing severe challenges.
She was in Mon district of Nagaland bordering Myanmar on Tuesday to inaugurate the Axis Bank’s Mon branch.
In her address after inaugurating the bank branch, Sitharaman said Prime Minister Narendra Modi has very strongly taken up financial inclusion to ensure inclusion for all strata of society through various schemes. She said such inclusion provides people access to credit without much security which is very crucial for most people in the bottom layer of the economy who often fall prey to middlemen.
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She also stressed the importance of connectivity, both physical and digital, to ensure access to all kinds of facilities and security.
Stating that it was her third visit to Mon district, Sitharaman recalled her visit to Longwa village in the district when she was the Defence minister. She said the visit had left a deep impression on her.
Interacting with the Konyak Naga tribe people during the visit, Sitharaman said she was impressed by the way they organised themselves.
She thanked and appreciated Axis Bank and its management for reaching out to people in remote areas to provide space for financial inclusion and access to all kinds of facilities. She also expressed appreciation to the Axis Bank management teams in Assam and Meghalaya where bank branches were simultaneously inaugurated along with the Mon branch.
With two Konyak representatives as a minister in the State Government and an MP at the Centre, Sitharaman appealed to them to ensure inclusion of all the people in the schemes of both the State and Central Government. She also urged the people to avail the facilities to the fullest and become productive units of society as job creators.
Axis Bank MD and CEO Amitabh Choudhary thanked Sitharaman for personally coming to dedicate the four bank branches in the Northeast.
The Union minister is on a three-day visit to Nagaland since August 22. She launched several initiatives and MoUs under corporate social responsibility extended by various companies on day one of the Nagaland CSR and Investment Conclave 2022 at Nagaland Baptist Church Council Convention Centre in Kohima on Monday.
