Farmers deposit Tk 223 crore

A total of Tk. 223 crore has been deposited in 90,43,589 accounts of farmers who opened 10-taka account at commercial and specialized banks till 31 December, 2016, according to Bangladesh Bank’s quarterly report.

The report shows a total of 18,60,225 account holders received the government subsidy money worth of Tk 44,84,00,000.

Bangladesh Bank (BB) created scope for farmers to open a bank account at Tk 10 on January 17, 2010. Later Freedom Fighters (FFs) and persons who deserve social allowances under social safety net programme were also included in the scheme.

To enable the poor to earn additional money by initiating small businesses, the central bank approved a Tk 200 crore refinancing scheme to provide loans to Tk 10 account holders at 9 percent interest rate.

Commercial banks and financial institutions provide Tk 44,25,00,000 to the 10-taka account holders.