HDFC Bank drives rural credit outreach in Karnataka
S.V. Krishnamachari
Private sector lender HDFC Bank organised a grameen loan mela (rural loan programme) in Kalaburagi, Karnataka last Friday,, after holding a similar initiative in Jhansi, Uttar Pradesh; Eluru, Andhra Pradesh; and Burdwan, West Bengal.
The programme was organised by the commercial and rural banking group of the bank to drive awareness among potential customers about the bank’s offerings such as agriculture finance, healthcare finance, construction vehicle finance, commercial equipment finance, the bank said in a statement.
The push was also in keeping this year’s theme of ‘International Year of Millets’. “Farmers from Kalaburagi district have set an example for others in cultivating millets. We are happy to collaborate with them as their preferred banking partner, in positioning India as the global hub of millets as part of the International Year of Millets,” Rahul Shyam Shukla, group head, commercial and rural banking, HDFC Bank said.
“Currently, 52% of HDFC Bank’s branches are in semi-urban and rural areas while 38% of our loan book caters to commercial and rural borrowers. The Grameen Loan Mela is an initiative on our part to expand credit outreach in rural areas. We have been running loan melas across the length and breadth of the country to provide finance opportunities in the hinterland as well. Our target is to support farmers, small and micro businesses, especially in the semi-urban and rural areas, to get them inducted into a formal banking system,” Shukla added.
The programme was attended by over 6,000 people, including small and marginal farmers, traders, Farmer Producer Organisations, agri start-ups, small agricultural entrepreneurs, transporters, shopkeepers, healthcare enterprises, and MSMEs from more than 500 villages.
The Bank’s Karnataka network comprises 448 branches spread across 180 locations, backed up by a business correspondent network of 384 people. As per the latest State Level Bankers Committee report, it is the third largest MSME bank in Karnataka, with a total MSME book size of Rs. 15,151 crore as on March 31, 2023, which is a growth of 44% over the previous year, according to the statement.
At the end of the quarter ended June 2023, the nationwide branch network stood at 7,860 branches and 20,352 ATMs / cash deposit & withdrawal machines across 3,825 cities / towns.
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