Parliament Question: Role of Banking Correspondents in Financial Inclusion

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF FINANCE DEPARTMENT OF FINANCIAL SERVICES LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 3495 ANSWERED ON MONDAY, AUGUST 10, 2026/SHRAVANA 19, 1948 (SAKA) Role of Banking Correspondents in Financial Inclusion 3495. SHRI CHAVAN RAVINDRA VASANTRAO: Will the Minister of FINANCE be pleased to state: (a) whether the Government is aware that Banking Correspondents (BCs) play a vital role in financial inclusion by delivering banking and Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) services in rural, remote, tribal and underserved areas, if so, the details thereof; (b) whether the Government has taken note of the increasing attrition among BCs due to inadequate remuneration, lack of service and social security and engagement through intermediary agencies, if so, the details thereof; (c) the number of BCs currently engaged and those who have discontinued during the last three years, Bank- wise and State/UT-wise along with the reasons therefor; (d) whether the Government has assessed the impact of such attrition on financial inclusion and rural banking services, if so, the details thereof; and (e) whether the Government proposes to improve BC service conditions through direct bank engagement, assured remuneration, fair commissions, social security, regulation of intermediary agencies and a comprehensive policy framework and if so, the details thereof? ANSWER THE MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF FINANCE (SHRI PANKAJ CHAUDHARY) (a) to (e) Business Correspondents (BCs) play a vital role in advancing financial inclusion by providing banking services at the doorstep, particularly in rural, remote, tribal and underserved areas. Over the years, the scope of services delivered through BCs has expanded significantly, and they are providing variety of services which, inter-alia, include transaction services, Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY) account opening, deposit mobilisation, sourcing of loan leads, recovery of Non-Performing Assets (NPAs), enrolment under micro- insurance schemes, recurring deposit services, among other banking services. As per extant guidelines of Reserve Bank of India (RBI), Scheduled Commercial Banks, including Regional Rural Banks and Local Area Banks, have been permitted to provide financial and banking services through the use of BCs. Banks formulate the policy for engaging BCs with the approval of their Board of Directors. Banks also select corporate BCs through the RFP process and the selected Corporate BC (CBC) in turn deploys individual BC at locations suggested by Banks. The service conditions, including remuneration, engagement, continuation, termination and any contractual benefits, are governed by the terms of the contract entered into between the concerned the CBC and the BC. However, the functioning and various other aspects of BCs are periodically monitored through the BC Monitoring Committee. The functioning and various other aspects of BCs, including renumeration, training, penalties, certification, deployment capacity building etc. is periodically monitored. Banks have accordingly been advised to take necessary steps to address all the issues that may impact functioning of Business Correspondents (BCs). Banks pay commission/fee to the BCs, the rate and quantum of which is reviewed periodically. BCs earn commission based on the volume of business and individual Bank’s remuneration policies. As per data available on the Jan Dhan Darshak (JDD) GIS App, a total of 17.36 lakh Banking Correspondents (BCs) act as the last-mile interface for the banking system. Details of BCs engaged State-wise & Bank type- wise during the last three years, is at Annexure. Data of BCs disengaged during the last three years, Bank-wise and State/UT-wise is not centrally maintained. ****Annexure Annexure as referred to in part (a) to (e) of the Lok Sabha Unstarred Q.No. 3495 for answer on 10.08.2026 State-wise number of BCs S.No. State Name March,2024 March,2025 March,2026 June,2026 1 ANDHRA PRADESH 37,536 41,939 49,723 49,944 2 ARUNACHAL PRADESH 1,224 1,286 1,304 1,314 3 ASSAM 25,498 29,268 50,314 50,569 4 BIHAR 1,29,981 2,20,058 2,30,141 2,30,327 5 CHHATTISGARH 28,880 50,409 52,406 52,761 6 GOA 1,098 1,186 1,260 1,260 7 GUJARAT 37,984 59,519 63,112 63,407 8 HARYANA 18,860 22,342 23,554 23,568 9 HIMACHAL PRADESH 4,420 4,929 4,890 4,909 10 JHARKHAND 38,049 45,758 79,557 81,424 11 KARNATAKA 30,595 56,805 57,139 57,199 12 KERALA 9,036 9,477 9,268 9,317 13 MADHYA PRADESH 1,04,844 1,72,021 1,81,577 1,85,018 14 MAHARASHTRA 86,459 1,41,593 1,57,349 1,58,544 15 MANIPUR 1,332 1,408 1,435 1,443 16 MEGHALAYA 1,529 1,564 1,570 1,570 17 MIZORAM 538 631 628 629 18 NAGALAND 489 517 514 519 19 ODISHA 29,324 34,468 49,848 53,305 20 PUNJAB 17,816 18,859 19,552 19,774 21 RAJASTHAN 60,712 1,09,168 1,08,872 1,09,405 22 SIKKIM 150 173 167 169 23 TAMIL NADU 28,064 33,578 34,505 34,586 24 TELANGANA 32,781 38,693 44,033 44,058 25 TRIPURA 1,960 2,270 2,320 2,325 26 UTTAR PRADESH 2,05,178 3,37,974 3,59,499 3,62,515 27 UTTARAKHAND 6,097 7,263 9,344 9,528 28 WEST BENGAL 48,434 63,329 92,386 1,07,355 29 ANDAMAN & NICOBAR 26 27 27 27 30 CHANDIGARH 235 243 543 543 31 DADRA & NAGAR 499 501 510 510 HAVELI, DAMAN & DIU 32 DELHI 11,328 13,352 14,072 14,134 33 JAMMU & KASHMIR 2,993 3,431 3,911 3,644 34 LADAKH 164 164 103 105 35 LAKSHADWEEP 3 3 3 3 36 PUDUCHERRY 256 284 332 333 Total 10,04,372 15,24,490 17,05,768 17,36,041 Bank Type-wise number of BCs S.No. Bank Type March,2024 March,2025 March,2026 June, 2026 1 PUBLIC SECTOR BANKS 2,20,671 2,59,347 2,77,676 2,81,382 2 PRIVATE SECTOR BANKS 32,173 30,422 29,774 30,765 3 REGIONAL RURAL BANKS 61,879 65,682 65,459 65,592 4 PAYMENT BANKS 6,87,211 11,67,193 13,30,937 13,56,379 Total 10,04,372 15,24,490 17,05,768 17,36,041 Source: JDD App