Government to set up ATMs in post offices in India

In order to take economic development and technology to large masses of the country, government is contemplating to install especially designed Gramtells (rural ATMs) at post offices.

The suggestion to set up Gramtells at post offices formed part of the recommendations of the Steering Committee on Micro Finance and Poverty Alleviation, which is being considered by the Planing Commission for incorporation in the Eleventh Plan (2007-12).
Gramtellers are rural ATM machines developed by Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Madras. They operate by using smart cards and fingerprints in place of conventional personal identification numbers and magnetic cards.

“The post office network in the country should be used to deliver banking services, especially in the rural areas,” the Committee suggested.

They should further be encouraged to work as business facilitators and banking correspondents in accordance with Reserve Bank guidelines, it said.

The Common Service Centres (CSC), developed by the Information Technology Department to take electronic services to villages, may also be linked to post Offices to synergise the technology to handle financial products, the Steering Committee proposed.

It recommended that multi-purpose, unique ID-based smart card system should also be utilised for effective delivery of micro-credit.