The Service Area Approach was implemented under the purview of

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The Service Area Approach (SAA) was introduced in April 1989 to bring about an orderly and planned development of rural and semi-urban areas of the country. It was extended to all Indian scheduled commercial banks, including Regional Rural Banks (RRBs).The Service Area Approach is an alternative and improved method of the Lead Bank Scheme for the deployment of bank credit for rural development. Under SAA, each bank branch in rural and semi-urban areas was designated to serve an area of 15 to 25 villages, and the branch was responsible for meeting the needs of bank credit of its service area.The primary objective of SAA was to increase productive lending and forge effective linkages between bank credit, production, productivity, and increase in income levels.