Regional Rural Banks and Upliftment of Rural Society

Rural Banking in India started with the establishment of banking sector in India. In those days, rural banks mainly focussed upon the agricultural sector. Gradually, Regional Rural Banks (RRBs) came up and penetrated every corner of the rural areas, thus contributing immensely to their growth. During the period of 30 years from 1976 to March 2006, the 17 branches of the six Regional Rural Banks in 12 districts of the country in 1976 increased to 133 Regional Rural Banks (post-merger) with a network of 14,494 branches, covering 525 districts.