Kasaragod: Kerala was earlier a totally “literate” state with Universities and high schools everywhere. Today, it is known as a “total banking” state, because every Malayalee family in Kerala has a bank account.

What is the position in Karnataka? It is only 75% literate and hardly 75% of the families have a bank account, because nationalised banks do not reach out to rural populations.

Many regions like Hyderabad Karnataka districts do not have proper development, as also North Kanara, to a certain extent, but not so in Kerala.
The Kerala Govt. has itself taken the lead to establish banking in every home Kerala has 14 districts and home those 14 districts has a bank account. All families in Kerala have been brought under F.I.P (a scheme of economic inclusiveness).

So all families can obtain loans, like all capitalist businessmen and develop self-helf groups. The efforts of 4 years of hard work have yielded the fruits now.

UDF Chairman and CM Oomen Chandy has congratulated the Kerala bankers at a meeting last week, on their splendid achievement of tying the strings of various regions of the state by banking.

He asked for more facilities from banks, as Kerala is flooded by NRI money transfers. They could help in agriculture, health, education, inland tourism and exports divisions, he indicated.

The banking movement in Kerala, as also its literacy movement, has provided models to Karnataka in Kannada development, and banking practices to rid of economic criminals on West Coast.