This was because we were concerned about the risk of reckless pushing of products by agents whose sole incentive was earning commission; it was also felt that local community based organisations and NGOs had the trust and confidence of the local population.
Over the last  4  BIS Review 77/2010  few years, the list of persons who can be appointed as business correspondents has been relaxed to include individuals such as retired government officials , school teachers, defence personnel as also “for profit” local “mom and pop” shops, petrol pump/public call office operators etc entities that usually deal in cash in the villages.