The Department of Posts, which comes under the Ministry of Communications, announced that 2.68 crore accounts were opened in 2024 so far in the India Post Payments Bank (IPPB). The financial services and banking arm of the India Post, the IPPB, was launched in September 2018. A little over five years since then, it boasts at least 10.5 crore accounts (savings, current, and so on), with 2.68 crore accounts opened in 2024 so far.
Out of all the IPPB accounts opened this year, 1.56 crore belonged to women. That is an impressive 59 per cent of the overall accounts. What's more impressive was the IPPB coverage in non-urban areas, with 77 per cent of the total account being opened in rural India.
In the year, 1.04 crore customers of the India Post Payments Bank availed mobile banking services, and 69 lakh used the virtual debit card (VBC) service.
The India Post, with its vast network, was also instrumental in Aadhaar identity number adoption in rural areas, with IPPB alone doing 1.15 crore Aadhaar mobile updates.
The Indian payment system, UPI, uses Aadhaar-linked mobile numbers as its base. For the year so far, UPI transactions across the IPPB hit almost 312 crore, with a total value of about Rs 1.56 lakh crore, according to the Department of Posts.
As of data published on Dec 11, 2024, there are almost 1.65 post offices in the country, which house 7.58 crore savings accounts in them.
More schemes, offerings for women from India Post
It is not just women account holders that are the highlight of the IPPB, but also the beneficiaries of the Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) scheme—with nearly 58 per cent of them being women.
The Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) done through the IPPB disbursed approximately Rs 7,500 crore under the MGNREGA, around Rs 8,300 crore under PM Kisan scheme, at least Rs 1,000 crore under PAHAL scheme, almost Rs 1,800 crore under the Mukhyamantri Ladli Behan Yojana, and more than Rs 3,300 crore under the Mukhyamantri Mazi Ladki Behan Yojana from January to November 2024, according to the latest data released by the Department of Posts.
India Post also has many women-centric offerings, such as the Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana Account (SSA) and the Mahila Samman Savings Certificate (MSSC).
The SSA is a special scheme for girl children for a term of 21 years. The initial deposit is Rs 250 with a maximum of Rs 1.5 lakh that can be invested in a financial year. After the initial deposit, any deposit can be made as long as it is in a multiple of Rs 50. Under prevalent taxation rules, the scheme is applicable for income tax exceptions availed for investments, and the interest is free of tax.
The MSSC, on the other hand, is a special scheme for all women—both adults and girl children. The minimum investment is Rs 1,000, and the maximum is Rs 2 lakh per person. However, the investment window ends on March 31, 2025. To avail this, India Post says that there needs to be a three-month gap between the opening of accounts. The term is two years, with an investment lockup period of six months, according to the minister of state for communications, Dr Pemmasani Chandra Sekhar, in a Parliament statement last month.
India Post has recently seen an uptick of women beneficiaries, women account holders, and women postpersons.
