Bhubaneswar: Chief postmaster general of Odisha circle Santosh Kumar Kamila on Friday said all the regional superintendents in his circle have been asked to organise road shows across the state to open new accounts and popularise the India Post Payments Bank (IPPB). These shows have already been organised in Sambalpur and Deogarh.

Kamila told The Telegraph: "Tomorrow (Saturday) will be a memorable day in the annals of Indian Post when Prime Minister Narendra Modi will launch 650 IPPBs across the country. All the IPPBs will connect to 3,050 access points. All the post offices will be used a place for all banking transaction."

He said: "Under the new programme initiated by the central government, around 33 branches will be rolled out with 165 access points in Odisha. The remaining 8,215 post offices in the state will be covered under the scheme by the end of the year." Under Odisha Postal circle, there are 32 lakh savings account at present.

Stating that the people of the state would be immensely benefited under the scheme, he said: "The objective of the IPBP is to cover the unbanked and underbanked area. The postal department has access to remote areas where banking penetration is quite low. The IPPB will serve the purpose of banking and focus will be on providing financial services. Even small amounts of savings can go a long way towards ensuring a better future. It will also ensure financial freedom."

He said: "Our postmen have started door-to-door campaigns on the issue. They are carrying smart phones along with them for the purpose They will provide doorstep banking services. The rural people will avail digital banking and financial services."

Kamila said that under the IPPB, people could receive their Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MNREGS) wages. "We are focusing on less cash system. The payment bank will be used by government to distribute MNREGA wages, subsidies, pension."

Stating that Odisha postal circle was doing well, he said: "Now, we are collecting electricity bills and water bills."

Kamila also exuded confidence that with the launching of the banking system, there would be no embezzlement of funds.

"Earlier, we received reports of embezzlement of funds in post office. However, with the new system, all these things will come to an end. There will be more transparency in the financial transaction," he said.