Bhamashah Financial Empowerment Scheme: A ruined efforts.

Bhamashah Financial Empowerment Scheme: A ruined efforts.

It was pretty humid and sunny day when I have started my professional career. The shyness of academics was still in my behavior. Agra (U.P.) seems to be unknowingly known place for me. I have been more exited to work at place which is highly rated tourist destination in INDIA. The responsibility of to look after the entire HRM of North India for the company which is doing the phenomenal work of financial inclusion is commonly known as BASIX was aligned on my shoulders. After completion of Induction I have been asked to join at Jaipur(Rajsthan) for Bhamashah Financial Empowerment Scheme to help and support in the matters pertaining to HRM.   

Today I have gone through the current status of the project to learn the social impact of my work which aimed at to bring back the excluded community to main stream by welcoming them financial world. It was wonderful tool to welcome the women of BPL and APL family member to the world of Finance.

The project has been awarded to IL and FS to get the required data with their bio-metric details to open a Bank account.   The Government will deposit Rs. 1500/- to these accounts and 30000/- health insurance coverage by enrolling the forms from respective beneficiary.

IL and FS has subcontracted the task of getting enrollment form filled with bio-metric details to BASIX group for 33 district of Rajasthan (The enrollment phase). The 44 lakhs of a population of the Rajasthan State has to be enrolled within limited period of time.  I along with team have mobilized the human resources from different part of the nation to complete the task. A lot of NGO’s has helped us by providing the manpower for the project. The resources have work effortlessly to get the task done.

After 4 years, the status of the project is in freeze mode. As Govt has change, present govt. stopped the scheme and sent it for the review to sub cabinet committee. A rupee 161 crores has been parked with PNB in the name of financial weaker women of Rajasthan state and PNB seems to be awarded with this public money as its advanced portfolio. As scheme is under review banks is not allowing women account holder (who has been issued the account). The entire project has become political controversy.

The scheme is in doldrums.  The fate the project is depends upon the recommendation/report of the committee.  Till date, it is loss of 40 lakhs customers to the bank, the substantial portion of the population is remained excluded from financial word, the wastage of public money while implementing the project and keeping it on hold,  it has direct or indirect impact on growth and development of the state, the States agenda of empowering women remain falsified,  now a day’s FM is talking a lot about  electronic cash transfer scheme it might be possible that if implemented these account will be directly utilized for immediate execution of the electronic cash transfer scheme. And most importantly there is loss of opportunity for the all the stakeholder of the Bhamashah Scheme. The only visible solution seems to be the immediate intervention of judicial mechanism to instruct the State govt. to unfreeze the project. Otherwise it may take too longer to start the work with Govt. efforts.    

Personally it becomes weird thing especially for one who has worked on this project and their sleepless and restless efforts are becoming ruined.

Ultimately social impact of your job counts a lot.  

   

-Amol Pralhad Nakve