Banking regulator, Reserve Bank of India has postponed its financial inclusion plan till March 2012. The apex bank had set the target of bringing banking services to the doorstep of every village having population of 2000 and more.

The targets of the RBI and the government now have reached the same deadline. The finance minister, Pranab Mukherjee had in the Budget speech for this fiscal set the target for achieving total financial inclusion by March 2012.

The central bank had set up a sub committee to design a roadmap "to provide banking services through a banking outlet in every village having a population of over 2,000, by March 2011".

"It is advised that the date of providing banking services through a banking outlet in every village having a population of over 2,000, is revised to March 2012," the Reserve Bank of India said in a notification.

In his budget speech, Mukherjee had said: "It has been decided to provide appropriate banking facilities to habitations having population in excess of 2,000 by March, 2012."

"In view of (this)...It has been decided to modify the format of the statements so as to obtain detailed information about allotted villages and progress in opening banking outlets in the allotted villages," the RBI notification added.