Patna: The Bihar government on July 7 signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with nine nationalised banks to provide enhanced salary account benefits to its employees and ministers.
In a ceremony chaired by Deputy Chief (Finance) Minister Samrat Chaudhary, the MoU was signed between the Finance Department, represented by Principal Secretary Anand Kishore, and authorised officers from State Bank of India, Punjab National Bank, Bank of Baroda, Bank of India, Union Bank of India, Central Bank of India, Canara Bank, Indian Bank, and UCO Bank.
Under the agreement, personal accident insurance cover ranging from Rs 40 lakh to Rs 1 crore will be provided to permanent and contractual employees depending on their salary. For air travel accidents, the cover will range from Rs 1 crore to Rs 1.6 crore. Some banks will also provide Rs 5 lakh personal accident cover to four family members of the account holder.
The package includes group term life insurance cover of Rs 10 lakh, compensation of up to Rs 1 crore for permanent or complete disability, and up to Rs 80 lakh for partial disability. Top-up health insurance at concessional rates is also part of the offering.
Employees taking home, auto, or personal loans from these banks will receive a 50-100% discount on processing charges, along with some concession in interest rates. Additional benefits include no charges on ATM card issuance, higher ATM withdrawal limits up to Rs 1,00,000 per day, auto sweep facilities, free standing instructions, RTGS and NEFT transfers, drafts, and overdraft facilities against salary.
Officials said the MoU allows employees to choose any of the nine banks for their salary account as per their convenience and access these benefits.
