📷 Image: Wikimedia Commons / Original: Sachinghai09
Derivative work: Radomian
Sarkari Yojana
Uttar Pradesh's BC Sakhi Scheme Boosts Rural Banking Access and Women’s Livelihoods
✍️ India Today
🗓 14 Oct 2026, 02:46 PM
👁 17
The BC Sakhi programme in Uttar Pradesh is linking unbanked villages to formal banks while giving women a source of income as banking agents.
The Uttar Pradesh government has rolled out the BC Sakhi scheme to plug the banking vacuum in remote villages. Under the programme, local women are recruited as Business Correspondents, known as “Sakhis”, to offer basic banking services such as deposits, withdrawals and account opening on behalf of partner banks.
Sakhis receive training and a mobile device that enables real‑time transaction processing, allowing villagers to access formal financial services without travelling long distances. The scheme also creates a modest livelihood for the women, who earn commissions on each transaction they facilitate.
Early feedback indicates that the presence of Sakhis is improving financial inclusion, encouraging savings, and opening pathways to credit for small‑scale entrepreneurs in the countryside. The initiative is being hailed as a dual‑benefit model that strengthens rural banking infrastructure while empowering women economically.
Sakhis receive training and a mobile device that enables real‑time transaction processing, allowing villagers to access formal financial services without travelling long distances. The scheme also creates a modest livelihood for the women, who earn commissions on each transaction they facilitate.
Early feedback indicates that the presence of Sakhis is improving financial inclusion, encouraging savings, and opening pathways to credit for small‑scale entrepreneurs in the countryside. The initiative is being hailed as a dual‑benefit model that strengthens rural banking infrastructure while empowering women economically.