Nirmala Sitharaman lists key financial inclusion measures at Paris summit

New Delhi: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Thursday listed out some key measures undertaken by the Central government to ensure financial inclusion.

"Today, we're able to send most of the benefits directly to the bank accounts of citizens. After the introduction of Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI), the government was able to save Rs one lakh crore in just one of the provinces in India through direct benefit transfer," she told dignitaries, while addressing the summit for the New Global Financing Pact in Paris.

"DPI has allowed us to make optimum use of taxpayers' money," she said.

Under 'Stand-up India' scheme, women were identified not just in big cities but tier-2 and tier-3 cities, and are being granted collateral-free loans at concessional rates, so that they can stand up on their own.

Push given for startups was not just an urban phenomenon, Sitharaman said.

"Women street vendors and small merchants are being given collateral-free loans," the Finance Minister told the gathering.

Listing out some women-centric projects initiated by the Indian government, the Minister said that all the public sector banks across India have been mandated to give loans to at least one woman per bank branch at a concessional rate without any collateral, Sitharaman added.

Maternity leaves were raised to 26 weeks, she informed, adding that women self-help groups in villages can now procure locally produced grains, build silos and storage capacities. Viability gap funding is being provided to them.

A national agriculture market has been created through which women can find a better market for their produce.