Khushbu’s Story

Khushbu is a BC Sakhi from a village near Varanasi in UP. Alongside her job, she is studying Home Science virtually from a university in Allahabad and is in the process of completing a course in computers.

This course teaches her typing, Excel, and basic computer skills and she is hoping to secure a job through their placement program.

Khushbu trained to become a BC Sakhi in February 2021 but only began working in November 2021 due to delays in the BC Sakhi Program, which hindered funding necessary for setting up their stations, such as buying a machine and setting up OD or FD accounts.

Running her BC Sakhi centre isn’t always smooth. BC Sakhis rely heavily on the nearest bank branch for support, particularly for cash. However, bank officials often delay, sometimes requiring BC Sakhis to gather in protest before releasing funds, claiming a lack of available funds.

A significant challenge for Khushbu is that after six months, the salary stops, and the system operates mainly on a commission-based model, which is insufficient to sustain her.

Khushbu learned about the BC Sakhi opportunity from her older brother, who read about it in the newspaper. He encouraged her to apply, believing it would elevate their status in the community. He kept the opportunity private to avoid competition and completed the application process for her, including opening a group savings account in her name. Khushbu then attended an eight-day training session covering banking, insurance, and money withdrawal.

Upon returning, she participated in a one-day training session with other BCs from the same bank, learning to operate the key device for transactions and account openings. However, many functionalities were not covered, leaving Khushboo to learn on the go. Fortunately, many of the device's options are fairly self-explanatory.

Her first customer was her brother Govind, whom she helped with a cash withdrawal. She then served her family members and eventually other community members. She even created posters to raise awareness about her services which she hung up in the market.

Despite being a BC Sakhi for over a year, Khushbu still relies on her brother for navigating some system aspects. She struggles with application requirements and device functionalities, sometimes referring to a light on the machine as Bluetooth. When her brother is unavailable, she contacts her trainer but never the bank, as they are unhelpful.

One common issue Khushbu faces when opening accounts is that people’s mobile numbers are not linked with their Aadhaar cards. She believes the system would be better without this requirement. Initially, they rented a space in the market for accessibility, but it became unaffordable after the stipend stopped six months in. They now operate from home, which has been beneficial as they no longer face competition from other BC Sakhis in the market.

Most of Khushbu’s customers are from her village or nearby villages. She notes that customers prefer BC Sakhis over banks as they don’t charge fees and are quicker. Most of her customers are women over 25, though 18-year-olds sometimes open accounts to avail government schemes. Khushbu and other BC Sakhis receive targets via a WhatsApp group and must send daily updates.