CHIKMAGALUR: Corporation Bank chairman and managing director V.K. Chopra said here on Thursday that all the 802 branches of the bank in the country will be brought under core banking solutions by July.

Speaking to presspersons here, Mr. Chopra said the bank transacted business worth Rs. 51,691 crores for the quarter ending December 31, 2005. Deposits grew by 10 per cent from March and advances registered a growth of 18.9 per cent, he added.

He said advances to agriculture increased by 32 per cent during the first nine months of the current fiscal year and lending to the priority sector exceeded the target of Rs. 7,325 crores by 20 per cent. The bank is focusing on micro-finance and has lent Rs. 56 crores to 17,068 self-help groups, he said and added that efforts are being made to open branches of the bank all over the country. Mr. Chopra said the bank has chalked out various development programmes to commemorate its centenary this year. A Rs. 2-crore library and numismatics museum will be constructed in Mangalore in this connection.

Education is another thrust area identified by the bank, he said and added that the allocation for education loans have increased from Rs. 70 crores to Rs. 140 crores during the past nine months.

The bank will give scholarships to 100 poor students with the scholarship amount ranging from Rs. 2,500 to Rs. 7,500 a year. In addition, libraries will be opened in 100 villages, he added.

Building inaugurated

Inaugurating the building of the Corporation Bank Self Employment Training Institute set up at a cost of Rs.62.25 lakhs on the outskirts of Chikmagalur, Mr. Chopra said such institutions will help upgrade skills of unemployed youth.

The institute has conducted 188 training programmes during the past 10 years and of the 5,477 candidates trained in various vocations, 3,278 have got jobs, he added.

Calling upon unemployed youth to avail themselves of the benefits provided by the bank through the institute, he said the bank is considering a proposal to start a similar institute in Kodagu.

Deputy Commissioner Harsh Gupta said entrepreneurs should not depend on the Government for marketing.

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