Agartala, Dec 22 (IANS) The Tripura Gramin Bank (TGB), one of India's 84 Regional Rural Banks (RRB), is appointing business correspondents and opening mobile bank branches to provide banking services in villages and far-flung areas, officials said here Tuesday.

'We have already engaged 25 farmers' club as business correspondents and engagement of 20 retired bank officers as business facilitators is under process,' TGB chairman Nilmani Gangopadhyay told reporters.

'The TGB has already issued 1,000 biometric cards to disburse wages under the NREGA (National Rural Employment Guarantee Act) and pension under NOAP (National Old Age Pension),' he said.

'The beneficiaries would receive the payment at their locality (without coming into the bank) using the biometric cards and with the help of the business correspondents, who would also carry a small device to use the biometric cards.'

These devices are equipped with a biometric sensor which has finger print verification system as a standard feature allowing rural people to withdraw their payment with just a thumb impression on a touch screen.

Tripura is the second state in India after Andhra Pradesh to use biometric card system for disbursement of payments under NREGA and NOAP.

There are 84 RRBs in India affiliated to the Reserve Bank of India. According to Gangopadhyay, of the 84 RRBs, 52 are profitable, 26 are in current profit and six are complete loss running.

'The TGB, which is running in current profit since 2000, is expected to register net profit of Rs.60 crore in the current fiscal,' Gangopadhyay added.

The TGB and three other RRBs in West Bengal, Manipur and Assam would soon enter into a core banking system to provide better banking services to the customers.

'By 2012, all the 110 branches of TGB would be brought under the core banking system.'

The credit deposit ratio of the TGB is now 41 percent while for other nationalised commercial banks, it is 32 percent.