‘ICICI Digital Villages” initiative to digitize 100 villages in next 100 days

Post-demonetization, every bank, private or public sector is making all the necessary efforts to push for digital transformation of the entire country. And because the challenge is much bigger in the rural hinterlands, banks are putting in extra energy on that front. Making a move in the similar direction, ICICI Bank has now taken up the initiative to transform 100 villages into ‘ICICI Digital Villages’ in 100 days.

The digitization project, in association with ICICI Foundation for Inclusive Growth (ICICI Foundation), the CSR arm of the ICICI Group, is in series with the India’s first digital village created by ICICI Bank at Akodara in Sabarkantha district, Gujarat last year. The Digital Village program encompasses digitization of transactions & commercial activities, vocational training, and credit facility to help villagers earn a sustainable livelihood.

These villages, which will be spread across the length and breadth of the country, will enable villagers to use digital channels for banking and payments transactions.

Specifics of the project include providing free vocational training to 10,000 underprivileged villagers in coming 100 days. The training will specially focus on rural women. Villagers will also be able to open bank accounts using Aadhar-based e-KYC and make cashless payments to retail stores through an SMS/USSD-based mobile solution.

ICICI Bank MD and CEO Chanda Kochhar said, “We will create a cashless ecosystem at these villages, provide vocational training to 10,000 villagers in first 100 days and offer them credit linkages so that the villagers can start their own business ventures. I am confident that this large project will contribute significantly to the Hon’ble Prime Minister’s vision of a Digital India.”

To encourage self-employment background in villages, ICICI Bank will also facilitate credit facilities to the trained villagers in the form of Kisan credit cards, two wheeler loans and farm equipment loans among others. The project incorporates formation of Self-help Groups(SHGs) to disburse these loans in a proper way.