INDIACSR News Network
RALAMANDAL, Madhya Pradesh : ICICI Bank Limited, India’s largest private sector bank, on August 7, 2013 said that it has launched 15 new Gramin branches across Madhya Pradesh as part of its financial inclusion plan that aims at providing banking services in unbanked villages.
All these branches have been opened in small villages, which were so far devoid of any banking facility.
The Ralamandal branch is one of the 15 branches the Bank inaugurated in Madhya Pradesh. The other Gramin branches in the same Indore district are at Kelod Kartal, Kelod and Amba Chandan. Other branches opened in the state are at Mahana, Tarawali, Khejra, Barkheda Gird, Kisoni and Bhawari Kheda villages in Guna district and Thikad, Pipaldhana, Mehgaon and Pagneshwar villages in Hoshangabad district and Bachawani village in Narsinghpur district.
With these launches, ICICI Bank has opened over 27 Gramin branches in Madhya Pradesh. The addition of these new branches has increased the network of ICICI Bank in Madhya Pradesh to more than 140 branches.
Mr. Amit Patni, Zonal Head (Rural & Inclusive Banking Group, Madhya Pradesh) of ICICI Bank said, “ICICI Bank recognises and accords great importance to rural and inclusive growth. It is our constant endeavour to provide the entire gamut of financial services in rural and remote areas, which include credit, savings, investments and insurance products. In line with this approach, we have launched 15 Gramin branches, which will provide all basic banking services in unbanked villages, which is a key part of our Financial Inclusion strategy.”
These Gramin branches will offer all the basic banking services such as:
Farmer Finance through Kisan Credit Card (KCC) and Agri-Term Loan (ATL) for the cultivation and development of agricultural land.
Rural Business Credit (RBC) to meet working capital and term loan requirements of business entities in rural and semi- urban areas.
Overdraft (OD) against fixed deposits (FD) under the Bank’s Kisan Kalpvriksh scheme for rural customers.
Various basic savings accounts to the customers based on their profile and requirements.
Funding to several Self- Help Groups (SHGs). The Bank has provided credit linkage to over 2,650 Self-Help Groups in the state resulting in banking access to about 31,000 members of SHGs in a span of just 18 months.
These branches also service business correspondents (BCs).
ICICI Bank has undertaken a wide range of initiatives in the last few years as part of its financial inclusion agenda. In this state, ICICI Bank is also engaged in Electronic Benefit Transfers (EBT) for disbursement of wages to the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) workers. It has a wide distribution network to service its rural and under banked customers.
