Tamil Nadu govt urges banks to ensure use of Tamil language on all public interfaces

The Tamil Nadu government has urged bankers in the state to ensure that Tamil language is used on all public interfaces, including ATMs and bank forms. A consultation was held for the first time and suggestions were sought from bankers for the upcoming state budget for the financial year 2022-23, as per a government release.

State Finance Minister PTR Palanivel Thiaga Rajan convened a Special State Level Bankers’ Committee meeting at the Secretariat on Monday. During the meeting, as per the directions of Chief Minister MK Stalin, the minister urged all bankers to ensure that Tamil language is used in all public interfaces such as ATMs, bank forms, etc. Further, he stressed the need for bank officials who are deployed at front desks and helpline desks to be conversant in Tamil.

The minister also reviewed the progress made in the implementation of various government schemes and urged banks to expedite the implementation of all priority sector lending schemes and extend education loans to students from the poorer sections of society.

“He also urged the banks to ensure banking solutions in unbanked remote areas, particularly forested and tribal habitations,” the release added.

A month ago, writer and researcher Suchitra Vijayan had taken to Twitter and complained that the forms at a private bank in the city were all in Hindi and her mother found it difficult to fill them. The bank later said that its regional team had contacted the customer and took necessary action to address the issue.