**Summary of Banking Infrastructure Coverage Report**
**Overview**
The Ministry of Finance has reported significant progress in extending banking services to rural India. The government's primary objective is to ensure that every inhabited village has access to a banking outlet—including bank branches, Business Correspondents (BC), or India Post Payments Bank (IPPB) units—within a five-kilometre radius.
**Key Metrics and Data Points**
* **National Coverage:** As of March 6, 2026, 99.92% of inhabited villages across the country are covered by a banking outlet within a 5 km radius.
* **Specific Achievement:** The Union Territory of Dadra and Nagar Haveli has achieved 100% village coverage within the 5 km target radius.
* **Monitoring Technology:** The Jan Dhan Darshak (JDD) App, a Geographic Information System (GIS) based application, is utilized to monitor the availability and distribution of banking infrastructure based on data uploaded by banks.
**Implementation and Governance**
* **Regulatory Oversight:** Following Reserve Bank of India (RBI) guidelines, the expansion of banking outlets is a continuous process managed by the State Level Bankers’ Committee (SLBC) and the Union Territory Level Bankers Committee (UTLBC).
* **Collaborative Framework:** These committees work in consultation with state governments, member banks, and relevant stakeholders.
* **Viability Assessments:** Banks evaluate new outlet proposals based on RBI instructions, internal business plans, and commercial viability. Field surveys are conducted as necessary to assess the feasibility of new locations.
**Challenges to Expansion**
Despite high coverage rates, the report identifies several impediments to further augmenting banking infrastructure:
* Lack of telecommunications connectivity.
* General infrastructure deficits.
* Non-availability of suitable premises for banking operations.
**Administrative Information**
This information was formally presented in the Lok Sabha by Shri Pankaj Chaudhary, Minister of State in the Ministry of Finance.
* **Release Date:** March 30, 2026
* **Release ID:** 2246857
* **Source:** Press Information Bureau (PIB), Delhi
Key Entities Referenced
Jan Dhan Darshak (JDD) App: A Geographic Information System (GIS) based application used by the government to monitor and ensure the availability of banking infrastructure within a 5 km radius of inhabited villages.
RBI guidelines: Regulatory instructions issued by the Reserve Bank of India that govern the continuous process of rolling out banking outlets in uncovered areas based on business plans and commercial viability.
State Level Bankers’ Committee (SLBC)/ Union Territory Level Bankers Committee (UTLBC): Inter-institutional committees responsible for identifying banking gaps and overseeing the rollout of outlets in consultation with state governments and member banks.
India Post Payments Bank (IPPB): A key banking entity utilized as a primary outlet type to achieve universal banking coverage across rural and remote areas.
Ministry of Finance
99.92% villages of the country covered with
banking outlets (banking branch, BC, IPPB)
within 5 km radius
Jan Dhan Darshak App enables GIS-based monitoring of
banking infrastructure
Posted On: 30 MAR 2026 3:35PM by PIB Delhi
The endeavour of the Government is to ensure availability of banking outlet [Bank branch / Business
Correspondent (BC) / India Post Payments Bank (IPPB)] within 05 kilometres (kms) of all inhabited
villages in the country. Availability of banking outlets is monitored by a Geographic Information System
(GIS) based Application, namely, the Jan Dhan Darshak (JDD) App.
Based on the data uploaded by Banks on the JDD App., 99.92% villages in the country and 100% villages
in the UT of Dadra and Nagar Haveli are covered with banking outlets (Bank Branch / BC / IPPB) within
a radius of 05 kms (as on 06.03.2026). Major impediments in augmentation of banking infrastructure are
lack of connectivity & infrastructure alongwith non-availability of suitable premises.
Further, as per the extant RBI guidelines, rolling out of banking outlets in uncovered areas is a continuous
process looked after by the State Level Bankers’ Committee (SLBC)/ Union Territory Level Bankers
Committee (UTLBC), in consultation with the concerned State Government, member banks and other
stakeholders. Banks, inter-alia, consider proposals for opening banking outlets in the light of RBI’s
instructions, their business plans and commercial viability. To further assess the viability for opening a
banking outlet, banks carry out survey as required.
This information was given by the Minister of State in the Ministry of Finance Shri Pankaj Chaudhary in
Lok Sabha today.
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