Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Saturday lauded the Sikkim government for helping the Himalayan state achieve extensive financial inclusion, covering remote villages and habitats.

She also congratulated banks and other financial institutions for the success story in Sikkim.

"Sikkim has done extremely well to set up bank branches and ATM kiosks in all six districts, covering remote villages and habitats to make the mission of financial inclusion a great success," Sitharaman said at a credit outreach programme here.

The minister said there are 32 bank branches and 36 ATMs in Sikkim per one lakh population in comparison to the national average of 14.

"The state capital Gangtok alone has 43 bank branches and 58 ATMs per one lakh population," she said, adding that women and youth are the biggest beneficiaries of financial inclusion in Sikkim.

Sitharaman also handed certificate of loans worth Rs 402 crore to 3,828 beneficiaries under various central schemes, noting that the number of beneficiaries were 1,720 when she had visited the state last year.

She said it was due to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s insistence that banks were not seeking collateral from beneficiaries to sanction loans under various central schemes.

"The banks are there to lend you money for your business, and you don't need to give any guarantee, as our PM is himself the guarantor," Sitharaman asserted.

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