The Role OF Banks

Banks play an important part in modern times. They safeguard their depositor’s money, jewels and vessels. They pay Interest for the money deposited and help the depositors to draw money from their accounts. They also allow special depositors to overdraw. They have the savings accounts and fixed deposit accounts to help the members to save money. They help the pensioners to draw their monthly pensions from them..

They lend money to the government to carry out several projects. Rural banks help farmers and poor people to run small scale industries. They lend money to plot- holders to build houses on their plots. They give travelers cheque-books to help the travelers who go about traveling in India. The businessmen who have foreign trade-contacts find the usefulness of banks. The D.D scheme helps lakhs of people to send money to the addresses with the lease expense and with the greatest safety. New schemes are being introduced by banks to help more and more people.

National development is based upon the efforts made by all classes of society; and the requisites for it are natural and financial resources which India has in plenty. Banks are the financial treasuries, the arteries of a country’s economic system. A sound banking system in a country helps the country in speedy progress.

Banks provide financial help to commerce, industry, agriculture, small scale industries, etc. They offer investment chances and safe-custody deposits. They encourage the habit of saving money. They profitably invest in all sorts of national development enterprises. They offer loans and credit facilities which help the growth of industry and commerce. They borrow money from the public in the form of fixed deposits, savings deposits, current deposits and recurring deposits. They also allow overdrafts in special cases. As agents of customers they undertake the collection and payment of cheques, bills and taxes. They set rolling the economic process of production, distribution and consumption. They have to function as a government department.

Many branches of banks are opened in rural areas to help the rural folk. They start new schemes for the more rapid improvement of the rural people. The nationalization of the 14 major Indian commercial banks in 1969 brought benefits to numerous classe3s of people like farmers, retail merchants, artisans, drivers of vehicles and self-employed people. The government now utilizes the surplus money of the nationalized banks for the economic growth of the country.

The nationalized banks aim at the creation of employment opportunities and extension of credit facilities for the long- neglected poor classes which now get financial assistance from the rural banks to undertaken such occupations as are economically useful. They also extend their financial assistance to help export and to build houses.