Indian Bank sets up self-employment training institute

Indian Bank has set up an ‘Indian Bank Self Employment Training Institute ' in Tiruvallur district near Chennai to impart skill development training to the rural masses to enable them to undertake self-employment ventures.

The bank has also set up a Financial Literacy and Credit Counselling Centre.

This was disclosed by the bank's Chairman and Managing Director, Mr T.M. Bhasin, at a function at the Palavedu village in the Tiruvallur district, near Chennai. On the occasion of the visit of Mr Rakesh Singh, Additional Secretary, Financial Services, Ministry of Finance, Government of India, Indian Bank, distributed smart cards to some villagers.

The villagers were sensitised to the uses of smart cards and also of opening bank accounts. They were also told how to avail themselves of the facilities offered by the local banking correspondent.

Mr Bhasin said that the financial inclusion movement in the country was initiated by Indian Bank in Puducherry in December 2005, as the National Pilot Project on Financial Inclusion. (Incidentally, the then Chairman and Managing Director of the bank was Dr K.C. Chakraborty, who is today a Deputy Governor in the Reserve Bank of India.)

Today, Puducherry is the first State in the country to have completed banking coverage of all the villages with population over and below 2,000 under financial inclusion.

mramesh@thehindu.co.in