Indian Bank to open 500 banking kiosks this year

Kochi, Aug 29 (UNI) In line with its objective of being a common man's bank, Chennai-based Indian Bank is planning to open 500 'banking kiosks' in villages this year, bringing services to the doorstep of rural people, bank CMD M S Sundara Rajan said today.

Addressing a press conference here, Mr Sundara Rajan said the bank had opened the first such kiosk in Puducherry and had applied for RBI's approval to open more such kiosks in different parts of the country.

These internet-enabled kiosks would be set up in busy areas such as marketplaces, to enable people to utilise the services without too much effort.

He said the bank was also planning to open ten branches exclusively to provide micro-credit services.

Indian Bank, celebrating its centenary this year, had seen net profit growth of 28.65 per cent in the first quarter of current financial year, while its total business grew from Rs 13,591 crore to Rs 78,879 crore. The bank was targeting 20 per cent increase in deposits and 25 per cent hike in advances this year, he said.

In other initiatives to provide easy credit to the rural poor, Indian Bank had covered 770 villages under the 'Financial Inclusion' project. While this had been successfully implemented in Puducherry district, it had been extended to Cuddalore and 12 other districts in Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Kerala, he said.

The bank had also started the practice of nil balance accounts which also provided credit facility to the poor.

The bank had also forged a tie-up with German toolmaking company Bosch to give Rs one lakh as loans to artisans and working men like carpenters, plumbers and electricians to upgrade their equipment and machines.

UNI