Flagging off of mobile ATM van by Hon’ble CM, Inauguration of Rural Mart at Sankhali, Felicitation of women SHG members

Goa: 18 July 2021

Dr. Pramod Sawant, Hon’ble Chief Minister of Goa flagged off the ‘Mobile ATM Van’ and inaugurated a Rural Mart on 17 July 2021 in an event organized by NABARD Goa Regional Office at Ravindra Bhavan, Sankhali. Dr. Pramod Sawant, Hon’ble Chief Minister of Goa was the Chief Guest at the event. Other dignitaries on the dais were Smt Usha Ramesh, General Manager/Officer-in-charge, NABARD Goa Regional Office, Shri V V Deshpande, DGM, NABARD Goa RO, Shri Ulhas Phaldesai, Chairman, Goa StCB, Shri Vithoba Ghadi, Vice President, Ravindra Bhavan Sankhali and Shri Deepak Vaigankar, Member Secretary, Ravindra Bhavan Sankhali.

Hon’ble Chief Minister in his keynote address congratulated NABARD on its 40th foundation day. He also praised the efforts of NABARD Goa Regional Office for providing finance for rural infrastructure projects as well as the various promotional and developmental activities undertaken by the Regional Office in the State. Smt Usha Ramesh, GM/OiC NABARD Goa RO in her address briefly outlined the history of NABARD since its formation in 1982. She underscored the commitment of NABARD towards Atma Nirbhar Bharat and Swayampurna Goem. Shri Ulhas Phaldesai, Chairman, Goa StCB appreciated the support provided by NABARD and hoped that the maximum villagers will avail the banking services provided through the mobile ATM van.

Earlier during the programme, 20 enterprising women SHG members and VOs were felicitated by the Hon’ble Chief Minister. Afterwards, Hon’ble Chief Minister flagged off the mobile ATM Van at Ravindra Bhavan, Sankhali. NABARD, Goa Regional Office has sanctioned a mobile ATM Van to Goa State Cooperative Bank Ltd. for “Demonstration of Banking Technology”. The van will now be deployed in North Goa district. It will help not only in demonstrating the latest banking technologies such as RuPay Debit Cards, RuPay KCC, PoS machines, micro ATMs, etc. but also help spread financial literacy in the remotest corner to promote financial inclusion. The mobile van will help the people in remote areas of North Goa to avail banking services at the doorstep especially the senior citizens. The route of the van will be announced beforehand so as to ensure maximum participation of villagers.

The Hon’ble Chief Minister also inaugurated the Rural Mart at Municipal Market, Sankhali. NABARD, Goa-RO has extended grant support to Goa Women’s SHG Association for setting up a Rural Mart and meeting its operational expenses in the Sankhali Municipal Council Building. NABARD provides financial assistance for establishing Rural Marts in order to support rural artisans, producers, SHG members to market their products effectively. Rural Mart will not only provide market access but also help promote entrepreneurship amongst SHGs.