Bhubaneswar: Thirty-three India Post Payments Bank (IPPB) branches with 165 access points were rolled out on Saturday in Odisha.

Attending the live launching programme, Union petroleum minister Dharmendra Pradhan said: "The people of Odisha will be immensely benefited out of the banking system. The poor man's money in the rural areas will be protected, and no one can cheat them. Here in Odisha, we have seen how their hard-earned money was looted by the sham deposit collection companies. Now, it will not recur."

He said: "With the launching of this programme, the postal department has got a new lease of life which is struggling for its existence. This facilities will shortly be available in all the 8,215 post offices of Odisha."

He said: "At present, the country has 1.25 lakh banks. By December, another 1.5 lakh banks in the form of the IPPB will be dedicated to the country. The postal department will sign MoUs with all government departments to provide all the benefits to the people."

Chief post master general Santosh Kumar Kamila said: "The Indian Postal 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. Our postmen are ready to serve the people with a commitment."

He said: "We have already launched road shows and now our postmen have started door-to-door campaign to popularise the scheme. They are carrying smart phone along with them for the purpose. The rural people will avail themselves of the digital banking and financial services."

The IPPB will enable transfer of money, government benefits, bill payments and other services such as investment and insurance. The postmen will deliver these services at the doorstep. It will also facilitate digital transactions and help to deliver the benefits of schemes such as the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana and wages of the rural job scheme.