New Delhi: The government
will soon launch the revamped Kisan Vikas Patra (KVP) besides some new saving
instrument programmes for the girl child as well for the physically challenged
person, a senior Finance Ministry official said on Tuesday.
"We are going to launch the revamped Kisan
Vikas Patra (KVP) soon again in the form of saving instrument," Rajat
Bhargava, Joint Secretary (Budget) in the ministry finance said at an event
here.
"Similarly, the government of India is also going to launch some new
saving instrument programmes for girl child as well as for the physically
challenged person who has not been covered so far (under the programme),"
Bhargava added.
Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, in the Budget speech, had said he will
re-introduce the KVP, which was a very popular instrument among small savers.
"I plan to reintroduce the instrument to encourage people, who may have
banked and unbanked savings to invest in this instrument," Jaitley had
said.
The KVP was discontinued by the UPA government in 2011 following the Shyamala
Gopinath Committee report. It had suggested that KVPs may be discontinued as
they are prone to misuse.
KVP was a popular saving scheme that doubled the money invested in eight years
and seven months. The government sold these saving bonds through Post Offices
in the country.
The new government has identified financial inclusion and access to formal
financial channels as a priority area and the reintroduction of KVP is seen as
furthering this objective.
Business News Desk