New Delhi, Oct 29 (IANS): Hughes Communications India Limited (HCIL), a subsidiary of Hughes Network Systems, has connected over 12,000 off-site ATMs and rural bank branches with a secure broadband satellite network in 2014, a company statement said here Wednesday.

"One of the biggest bottlenecks facing development in India is the lack of financial inclusion for the masses in under-served areas," Shivaji Chatterjee, head of enterprise business at HCIL, said.

"...Hughes has been at the forefront in helping fulfill Prime Minister (Narendra) Modi's mission (Jan Dhan Yojana) to put development on the fast track by ensuring that almost every Indian across 600,000 villages has access to banking services," he added.

The new contracts were awarded to Hughes by eight banks - Punjab National Bank, HDFC Bank, Oriental Bank of Commerce, Bank of Baroda, IDBI Bank, Dena Bank, Punjab & Sind Bank, and Odissa Gramya Bank.

The contracts are valued at Rs.30 crore, the statement added.