Directs J&K Bank to enhance insurance amount from Rs 15 lakh to Rs 25 lakh from next financial year

Srinagar: Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha on Wednesday rolled out ‘Accidental Insurance Scheme’ for employees of the J&K Government. Under the scheme, Jammu & Kashmir Bank will extend free group personal insurance cover of Rs 15 lakh to all the employees.

The Lt Governor also launched J&K Bank’s ‘Phone Pe Loan’ facility for the government employees.

The Lt Governor said that people-centric initiatives such as ‘Phone Pe Loan’ & ‘Accidental Insurance Cover’ will ensure hassle-free credit flow and social security net for employees.

J&K Bank, with a strong & diversified banking system and serving all sectors of the economy, is reaching out to all sections of society for financial inclusion & delivering financial services to the last man in queue, the Lt Governor observed.

With consistent reforms in the last two years, J&K Bank has demonstrated resilience in adapting to the challenges, and emerged as one of the most trusted & reliable banks in the UT, said the Lt Governor.

The Lt Governor directed the bank to enhance the insurance amount from Rs 15 Lakh to Rs 25 Lakh from the next financial year.

Highlighting several steps being taken to end the non-transparent credit culture and to bridge the gap in credit availability, the Lt Governor said that the UT government is making dedicated efforts to strengthen the credit flow system.

J&K Bank has been the leader in implementing Pradhan Mantri Jan-Dhan Yojana, connecting poor families to the formal financial system. Out of the 43 lakh accounts under this scheme, 25.65 lakh accounts were opened in Jammu and Kashmir Bank alone, he further added.

The Lt Governor also enlisted the measures taken to reach out to the population living in such areas as remained disconnected with the banking and financial system.

As many as 99 villages out of the 104 villages in the UT with population above 5000 with no banking outlets have been connected to the financial system and the remaining villages will be covered soon. Besides, 147 small villages, which were outside the financial sector were also being linked with banking facility, he added.

Dr Arun Kumar Mehta, Chief Secretary congratulated the J&K Bank on the occasion, and commended its continuous efforts for extending hassle-free banking services to the people.

Baldev Prakash, MD & CEO, J&K Bank, speaking on the occasion, expressed gratitude to the UT Government for extending support to the Bank for its effective functioning.

J&K Bank has registered an annual net-profit of Rs 501 Cr for the Financial Year 2021-22, which is the best performance of the bank in the last seven years, he informed.

On the occasion, the Lt Governor also handed over Pradhan Mantri MUDRA Yojana sanction letters to the beneficiaries.

The free Group Personal Insurance Cover is extended to all the permanent employees of J&K Government in addition to the offers that they are entitled to on behalf of MoU between J&K Bank and J&K Government. The Bank has contracted with Oriental Insurance Company for extending the cover.

The policy for group accidental insurance shall cover personal accidental deaths under all circumstances including terrorism, on anytime and anywhere basis. The insurance company will be required to settle the claims within 15 working days of submission of all requisite papers.

Under ‘Phone Pe Loan’ scheme, the salaried employees can avail personal consumption loan and cash credit facilities at discounted rate of interest, it was informed.

The launching event for the several schemes of J&K Bank was organized by the bank in connection with ‘Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav’.

Syed Rais Maqbool and Chetan Paljor, General Managers J&K Bank, besides other senior officers of the bank were present on the occasion at the auditorium of J&K Bank Corporate Headquarters.

KR Desk