See Full Document Text
GOVERNMENT OF INDIA
MINISTRY OF FINANCE
DEPARTMENT OF FINANCIAL SERVICES
LOK SABHA
UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 5019
ANSWERED ON MONDAY, MARCH 23, 2026/CHAITRA 02, 1948 (SAKA)
Branches of Nationalised Banks
†5019. SHRI NILESH DNYANDEV LANKE:
DR. SHIVAJI BANDAPPA KALGE:
Will the Minister of FINANCE be pleased to state:
(a) the number of villages in different States of the country which do not have even a single branch of
any nationalised bank;
(b) the total population of people who do not have bank accounts in the country during the last five
years till date, year-wise and State-wise, including Maharashtra;
(c) whether the Government has reviewed the effectiveness of existing financial inclusion initiatives
in reducing the number of families deprived of banking facilities;
(d) if so, the details thereof and if not, the reasons therefor; and
(e) the steps taken by the Government to ensure equitable banking access including strengthening
digital and physical banking infrastructure in remote and underserved areas in the State of
Maharashtra?
ANSWER
THE MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF FINANCE
(SHRI PANKAJ CHAUDHARY)
(a) to (e) 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 (km) of all
inhabited villages in the country. Availability of banking outlets is monitored by a Geographic Information
System (GIS) based Application, namely, Jan Dhan Darshak (JDD) App.
Based on the data uploaded by Banks on the JDD App., 99.92% villages in the country are covered with
banking outlets (Bank Branch / BC / IPPB) within a radius of 05 km, as on 06.03.2026. Data regarding the
total population currently without a bank account is not centrally maintained.
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’sinstructions, their business plans and commercial viability. To further assess the viability for opening a
banking outlet, banks carry out survey as required.
Banks conduct regular awareness camps at the grassroots level to promote the financial inclusion schemes
of Government of India. Additionally, a review mechanism is in place to regularly monitor the
implementation and effectiveness of these schemes with banks and other relevant stakeholders.
The Government launched the Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY) in August, 2014 to provide
universal banking services for every unbanked household. Further, to give impetus to financial inclusion
initiatives of the Government, the scheme was extended beyond 14.08.2018 by shifting the focus from
‘every household’ to ‘every unbanked adult’.
Several initiatives are being undertaken by the Government to ensure that all sections of the society have
equitable access to the financial inclusion schemes in the country based on the guiding principles of
banking the unbanked, securing the unsecured, funding the unfunded and serving unserved and
underserved areas.
Recently, a Gram Panchayat level saturation campaign was launched from 01.07.2025 to 31.10.2025 across
the country with the objective to enhance the penetration of Financial Inclusion Flagship Schemes i.e.
Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY), Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana (PMJJBY),
Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana (PMSBY) and Atal Pension Yojana (APY).
The availability of physical and digital banking infrastructure in the State of Maharashtra is as under:
Banking infrastructure in Maharashtra (as on 28.02.2026)
Branch BC ATM IPPB
18,331 1,51,421 21,834 13,761
Source: JDD App
List of Digital Banking Units (DBUs) Setup in Maharashtra
(as on Feb' 2026)
S.No Name of District STATE/ UT Bank
1 Aurangabad Maharashtra Bank of Maharashtra
2 Satara Maharashtra Bank of Maharashtra
3 Lokmangal Maharashtra Bank of Maharashtra
4 Thane Maharashtra HDFC Bank
5 Pune Maharashtra HDFC Bank
6 Nagpur Maharashtra Union Bank of India
*****