BC Sakhi Yojana, Uttar Pradesh (Banking Correspondent Sakhi)

What is BC Sakhi Yojana?

BC Sakhi Yojana is an Uttar Pradesh programme that places a trained woman banking correspondent in every gram panchayat of the state. It is run by the Uttar Pradesh State Rural Livelihood Mission (UPSRLM) under the Rural Development Department, and it was launched by the state government in 2020.

"BC" stands for banking correspondent. An agent authorised by a bank to carry out basic banking transactions outside a branch. A BC Sakhi is that agent, except she is a woman from the village itself, working inside her own gram panchayat with a handheld transaction device.

The problem the scheme addresses is distance. A large share of rural households in Uttar Pradesh live several kilometres from the nearest bank branch, and a pensioner or a MGNREGA worker collecting a direct benefit transfer can lose a day's wage and a bus fare simply to withdraw a few hundred rupees. Placing a banking correspondent inside the panchayat collapses that journey to a short walk.

The scheme does two things at once. It brings banking services to the doorstep of rural households, and it creates a paid livelihood for a rural woman. That dual purpose is why the scheme sits with the rural livelihood mission rather than with a banking department, and why self-help group members are given preference in selection.

What does a BC Sakhi actually do?

A BC Sakhi operates as the bank's representative in her village. The typical services are:

• Cash deposits and withdrawals using Aadhaar-enabled payment on a handheld device.
• Direct benefit transfer withdrawals, pensions, scholarships, MGNREGA wages, scheme payments credited into a villager's account.
• Balance enquiries and mini statements.
• Assistance with opening basic savings accounts and with linking Aadhaar to accounts.
• Support for small-value money transfers within the limits the sponsoring bank sets.

The device and the transaction limits are set by the sponsoring bank, not by the BC Sakhi. She works under an agreement with that bank, and the transactions she does are recorded against her correspondent identity.

How much does a BC Sakhi earn?

The state announced two forms of support at launch.

A monthly stipend of Rs 4,000 for the first six months. This is a bridge payment. A new banking correspondent takes time to build transaction volume in her village, and without a stipend the first months would generate almost no income. The stipend is paid for that initial period only.

Support towards the cost of the transaction device, so that the BC Sakhi does not have to fund the handheld machine and the setup cost out of her own pocket before she has earned anything.

After the initial period, income comes from commission. The sponsoring bank pays a commission on each transaction the BC Sakhi completes. Earnings therefore depend directly on how many people in the panchayat use her services and how often. A BC Sakhi in a large, active panchayat can earn considerably more than one in a small village with few DBT beneficiaries.

This is the point prospective candidates most need to understand clearly. BC Sakhi is not a salaried government job. It is a commission-based livelihood with a six-month stipend at the start, and there is no permanent government appointment, no pay scale and no pension attached to it.

Who is eligible to become a BC Sakhi?

A candidate can be considered if:

• She is a woman, since the scheme is exclusively for women.
• She is a resident of the gram panchayat where the position exists. A BC Sakhi serves her own panchayat.
• She meets the minimum educational qualification notified by the mission for that selection round.
• She can operate a smartphone or tablet, because the entire job runs on a handheld device.
• She is willing to complete the training and the banking correspondent certification required before going live.
• Preference is given to members of self-help groups under the rural livelihood mission.

A candidate is not eligible if:

• The applicant is a man. The scheme is for women only.
• She does not live in the gram panchayat in question. Applying for a neighbouring panchayat's position is not permitted.
• She cannot meet the education requirement notified for the round.
• She is unable to operate the transaction device, which is tested during training.
• She fails or does not attempt the banking correspondent certification, since a bank cannot let an uncertified person transact on its behalf.
• The panchayat's position is already filled. The design is one BC Sakhi per gram panchayat, so a filled position closes the opportunity in that village until it falls vacant.

What documents are required?

How to apply to become a BC Sakhi in your gram panchayat

1. Ask at the block office of the State Rural Livelihood Mission whether the BC Sakhi position in your gram panchayat is vacant. This is the single most useful step, because the design allows one position per panchayat and a filled one cannot be applied for.
2. Approach your village self-help group federation or the gram panchayat secretary when a selection round is announced, and ask for the application format used in that round.
3. Submit the application with Aadhaar, educational certificate, residence proof, bank passbook, photograph and SHG membership proof if you have it.
4. Attend the selection process conducted at panchayat and block level by the mission, which assesses education, residence and ability to use a device.
5. Complete the training the mission arranges for selected candidates, and clear the banking correspondent certification required before you can transact.
6. Sign the agreement with the sponsoring bank, collect the transaction device, and begin operating in your panchayat.

There is no standing all-year online form for BC Sakhi. Websites that offer a "BC Sakhi registration link" outside a mission-announced selection round are not part of the official process, and no one should be paid for an application form.

Why do BC Sakhi candidates get left out?

• The panchayat position is already filled. With one position per gram panchayat, this is the most common reason there is simply nothing to apply for.
• Residence outside the panchayat applied for.
• Education below the notified minimum for that selection round.
• Inability to operate the device, identified during training.
• Certification not cleared, after which the bank cannot authorise transactions.
• Applying through an unofficial link rather than through the block mission office, so the application never reaches the selection process at all.

Where do I ask questions or complain?

Ask first at the block office of the Uttar Pradesh State Rural Livelihood Mission, which holds the vacancy position and the selection timetable for every gram panchayat in the block. The District Rural Development Agency is the next level up.

For a written, tracked grievance — a selection irregularity, a stipend not paid, or money demanded for an application, file on jansunwai.up.nic.in against the Rural Development Department. Jansunwai issues a complaint number and records the department's reply against a deadline.

For problems with the device, the transaction limits or the commission itself, the counterpart is the sponsoring bank, since the correspondent agreement is with the bank and not with the mission.

Key points to remember

• BC Sakhi Yojana places one woman banking correspondent in each gram panchayat of Uttar Pradesh, under UPSRLM.
• The state announced Rs 4,000 a month for the first six months plus support for the transaction device; after that, income is commission on transactions.
• It is a livelihood, not a government job: no pay scale, no permanence, no pension.
• Eligibility is a woman resident of the panchayat, meeting the notified education bar, able to use a handheld device, with SHG members preferred.
• Selection runs through the block rural livelihood mission office, not through a permanent public online form.

How to check your application status

BC Sakhi Yojana does not run through a centralised online application, so there is no application ID, login, or tracking portal where a candidate can check a status online. The selection is a local, block-level process, and status has to be followed up the same way the application was made.

• Ask at the block office of the State Rural Livelihood Mission. The block office holds the vacancy position and the selection timetable for every gram panchayat it covers, so it is the first and most reliable place to ask whether your application has moved to the training or certification stage.
• Follow up through the SHG federation or gram panchayat secretary. If you submitted your application through your village self-help group federation or the panchayat secretary, they are usually informed first when a shortlist or selection round result is announced, before it reaches the individual candidate.
• Confirm training and certification dates directly. Since selection runs through document screening followed by training and a banking correspondent certification, the practical way to know where you stand is to ask whether you have been called for training yet, since that is the visible marker that an application has cleared the initial screening.
• Check the stipend transfer, once selected. Once selected and undergoing the process, the monthly stipend for the first six months is paid by DBT into the candidate's own bank account, so a stipend credit in the passbook is itself a confirmation that the record has been processed on the mission's side.
• Escalate a stuck or unanswered status query to the District Rural Development Agency if the block office does not respond, since it sits above the block mission office and oversees the scheme's rollout across the district.

There is no SMS or helpline-based status check specific to BC Sakhi, and any website offering to track a "BC Sakhi application status" outside these channels is not part of the official process.