Indian postmen to turn bankers: Minister

New Delhi : Minister of State for Communications Manoj Sinha on Wednesday said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi will launch India Post Payments Bank (IPPB) on August 21 to provide financial services to people in underserved areas.

"The Department of Posts reaches every nook and corner of the country including rural and remote areas. With the upcoming nation-wide launch of IPPB, the trusted postman will now become a banker to millions of unbanked and under-banked Indians who so far had no access to financial services," Sinha told reporters here.

With the post offices being transformed as payment banks, the number of bank branches in rural areas would more than double from 49,000 to 1.30 lakh.