Kharar (Sahibzada Ajit Singh Nagar), November 5, 2026:- Under the special saturation campaign launched by the Department of Financial Services, Ministry of Finance, Government of India, from October 21 to December 31, 2026, to ensure financial inclusion at every Gram Panchayat and Urban Local Body level, the Circle Office of Punjab National Bank, Mohali, organised a Mega Financial Inclusion Saturation and Awareness Camp at Gram Panchayat Kalewal, Kharar, District Sahibzada Ajit Singh Nagar.
The camp was attended by Pankaj Setia, General Manager, Reserve Bank of India; Gurmeet Singh, SDM Kharar; Bishwajit Biswal, Circle Head, Punjab National Bank, Mohali; Arun Kumar, DGM, NABARD; Kundan Kumar, AGM, SBI Regional Office; Dinesh Kumar, Regional Head, Punjab Gramin Bank; Surinder Kaur, Sarpanch of village Kalewal; and M.K. Bhardwaj, Lead District Manager, Mohali. District coordinators of various banks, representatives of CFL centres, financial literacy centres and banking correspondents also participated.
PNB DGM Bishwajit Biswal welcomed the guests and participants and said that Punjab National Bank was committed to providing better customer services to the people of the region. He said that, as a bank with a strong presence in the district and a leading role in the banking sector, PNB had a special responsibility towards public welfare. He assured that the campaign would be implemented smoothly to ensure that all eligible beneficiaries, including those who had so far been left out, received the benefits of financial schemes. Necessary instructions had been issued to all bank branches in this regard. On the occasion, the Gram Panchayat Kalewal also honoured the dignitaries by presenting them with siropas.
Pankaj Setia, General Manager, Reserve Bank of India, urged all banks to actively participate in the campaign and ensure that the benefits of government schemes reached every eligible person. He stressed the need to update KYC and nomination details in bank accounts. While highlighting the importance of cyber security, he urged people never to share their bank account details, OTPs or passwords with anyone under any circumstances.
Ramkishor Meena, Deputy General Manager, SLBC Punjab, provided information about the activities being undertaken under the campaign. He said that the initiative included registration of eligible citizens under the Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana, Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana and Atal Pension Yojana; Aadhaar seeding; opening new accounts under the Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana; and reactivation of inactive accounts.
He further explained that the campaign was also providing assistance for re-KYC of existing Jan Dhan and other savings accounts, generation of CKYC IDs for pending accounts, updating nominations in savings accounts and lockers, and the process for refund of ineligible or unclaimed deposits. In addition, awareness was being created about protection against digital fraud and the procedure for filing complaints. Eligible farmers who had been left out of the Kisan Credit Card scheme were also being registered on the spot.
Gurmeet Singh, SDM Kharar, appreciated the initiatives being undertaken by Punjab National Bank for public welfare. He said that creating awareness about cybercrime was an important need of the present time and that such programmes played a significant role in protecting people from financial fraud.
During the camp, exhibition stalls displaying various products were set up by self-help groups, RSETI Mohali and CFL Centre Majri. Students also presented a street play to spread awareness about protection against cybercrime, which received an encouraging response from the audience.
M.K. Bhardwaj, Lead District Manager, Mohali, appealed to the general public to participate in large numbers in the camps being organised under the special saturation campaign and avail themselves of the benefits of the Government of India's financial inclusion schemes.
Gulshan Kumar, PNB Chief Manager Gurmeet Chhabra, Sudhir Sidhu, AGM, RBI Chandigarh, Aanchal Sharma, DDM, NABARD, and other senior officials of banks operating in the region were also present on the occasion.
