The second largest public sector lender of the country, Punjab National Bank has launched a massive financial inclusion program with an aim to have 1, 00, 000 touch points by the year 2013.

30 touch points have already started operations in areas of Bulandshahr in Uttar Pradesh, Rohtak in Haryana and Gaya in Bihar. With this the bank would be reaching out to 119 villages thus benefitting 1, 32, 000 people.

The mission named Project Namaskar was inaugurated by Finance Minister, Mr. Pranab Mukherjee in the New Delhi based Headquarters of the bank.

Marking the occasion the bank also said that it would implement 100% core banking solution (CBS) also called anywhere banking facility in six regional rural banks (RRBs) which are promoted by PNB. These RRBs are spread across 67 districts in six states.

PNB has been involved in the process of financial inclusion since a long time. This is not the first endeavor by the bank this year in this field. a few months back the bank had come up with Biometric ATMs.

"With the implementation of CBS, the RRBs shall also be able to provide fastest remittance facilities to its customers," the bank said.

The bank has already completed the implementation of CBS in its sponsored RRBs 18 months before the target date of September 2011 set by RBI.

Speaking at the event the Finance Minister said that it is a big responsibility of banks to see to the spread of financial inclusion in the country. , "The average number of people serviced by a bank branch was around 1,36,000 in 1951, which increased to 65,000 in 1969 at the time of bank nationalisation and further to 14,000 in September 2009," he said exemplifying how the banks especially PSUs have penetrated so far in the Indian system.

K R Kamath, CMD of PNB, said that the bank is sensitive to dynamics of changing needs of the customers and is, therefore, continuously improvising and augmenting its existing products and services to have a competitive advantage in the market place.