TT
Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Saturday lauded the Sikkim government for helping the Himalayan state achieve extensive financial inclusion, covering remote villages and habitats.
She also congratulated banks and other financial institutions for the success story in Sikkim. “Sikkim has done extremely well to set up bank branches and ATM kiosks in all six districts, covering remote villages and habitats to make the mission of financial inclusion a great success,” Sitharaman said at a credit outreach programme here.
The minister said there are 32 bank branches and 36 ATMs in Sikkim per one lakh population in comparison to the national average of 14. “The state capital Gangtok alone has 43 bank branches and 58 ATMs per one lakh population,” she said, adding that women and youth are the biggest beneficiaries of financial inclusion in Sikkim.
