Why in news? 

Prime Minister Narendra Modi urged bank chiefs to make it easier for people to avail loans through a new Jan Samarth portal, a repository of a dozen credit-linked government schemes.

Highlights

• It was imperative to focus on making Indian banks and the rupee an integral part of global trade and supply chains.
• The PM also released a special series of ₹1, ₹2, ₹5, ₹10 and ₹20 coins with the logo “Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav”, which would ‘persistently remind people of the goals of the Amrit Kaal and inspire them to contribute to the country’s development’.

One platform for all

• The new portal would make life easier for farmers, students and entrepreneurs who would be able to assess which of the government’s schemes would work best for their needs on a single platform instead of different Ministries’ websites.
• As of now, at least 13 schemes that granted beneficiaries credit from banks had been included in the portal, which would also ensure that citizens need not answer the same questions when applying for different government programmes.

• The Jan Samarth portal will be an ‘end-to-end delivery platform’ and more people will come forward to avail loans because of the ease of compliance The Jan Samarth portal will be an ‘end-to-end delivery platform’ and more people will come forward to avail loans because of the ease of compliance.