05-12-2012, 02:05 PM
CANARA BANK – A JOURNEY TOWARDS TOTAL FINANCIAL INCLUSION
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Canara Bank, commonly known as a “Small Man’s Bank”, was founded by Shri Ammembal Subbarao Pai, a great visionary and philanthropist, in July 1906 in a small port town in Karnataka. The Bank was driven by a mission of services rather than mere pecuniary motives. The founding principles and the philanthropy focused on people orientation and assisting the needy. The ethos and values given by the founder is
“A good bank is not only the financial heart of the community, but also one with an obligation of helping in every possible manner to improve the economic conditions of the common people”.
NATIONAL PRIORITIES:
Apart from pursuing various goals under commercial banking and mandated priority sector lending activities including agriculture, the Bank has also carved a distinctive mark in implementation of national priorities and catering to other corporate social responsibilities.
Promoting an inclusive growth strategy, which has been formed as the basic plank of national policy agenda today, is in fact deeply rooted in the Bank’s founding principles.
The Bank has made significant contribution to the Financial Inclusion programme in the country.
The Government has allotted 1,615 villages to our Bank all over the country, having over 2,000 population, for coverage under financial inclusion. Of these, 1,615 villages, 300 villages are proposed to be covered under Bank / Branch model and the balance 1,315 villages will be covered by Business Correspondent (BC) model.
The Bank has achieved total financial inclusion in all the 26 lead districts spread over five States. During FY11, the Bank opened 6.02 lakh no-frill accounts taking the total tally of No-frill accounts to 30.35 lakh since inception. Bank has also issued over 101,212 smart cards to various no frill account holders.
CANARA NAYEE DISHA – A TOOL OF CANARA BANK FOR HOLISTIC AND MEANINGFUL INCLUSIVE GROWTH:
Canara Nayee Disha, a Scheme designed by the Bank, targeting the less privileged is a bouquet of services for No-Frill Account holders to facilitate financial deepening through Group Formation among the No-Frill Account holders. Such Groups formed out of the No-Frill Account holders would be linked to Credit for ensuring better utilization, income generation, peer pressure for repayment and overall economic improvement.
Nayee Disha contains –
• Inbuilt overdraft facility
• Kisan Credit Card
• General Credit Card Scheme
• Differential Rate of Interest
• Financing SHGs/Micro Credit Groups
• Financing JLGs of Tenant Farmers
• Debt Swapping Scheme for Farmers & Urban poor
• Various Government sponsored schemes
• Micro-Insurance
• Free remittance
Certain uniqueness of the approach are –
• Focus on Group Synergy – Coverage of atleast 50% of No Frill account holders through SHGs / Micro Credit groups; on economic freedom and sustainability of lives of the just included by encouraging the cohesiveness among them
• Under ICT enabled model, No frill account holders will be facilitated to access all banking services at the branches apart from services through Business Correspondents
• Non-Financial support to back the financial initiatives through the rural employment Training Institutes
• Financial literacy at the door steps of the excluded – through expanding the Bank’s pioneering initiative of “Canara Grameen Vikas Vahini Scheme”, Banking goes to villages exhibitions, Adoption of Schools, Farmers’ Clubs, etc.
• Dedicated delivery through Micro Finance branches and Financial Inclusion Cells at select branches
RURAL DEVELOPMENT:
Canara Bank has been in the forefront amongst the comity of the Banks in initiating various Rural Development Programmes.
The bank promoted “Canara Bank Centenary Rural Development Trust”, which has formed 23 Rural Self Employment Training Institutes across the country. These Centres have trained more than 1.25 lakh youth in various self employment ventures and 70% of the trained are gainfully employed. The trust has also promoted 4 Information Technology Training Centres which include the recently opened one at Berhampur in Murshidabad District of West Bengal and 3 Artisans Development Centres.