Tamil Nadu   

UCO Bank’s unique scheme inaugurated

KARAIKUDI: The Union Minister for Finance, P. Chidambaram, inaugurated Samagra Gramin Vikas Yojana of the UCO Bank, a scheme to adopt Ariyakudi village panchayat near here to provide all basic amenities, on Friday.

Addressing the function, Mr. Chidambaram said that this was a unique service by the bank wherein not only individuals were benefited but also a whole village as such.

A survey was being taken in the grade II panchayat with a population of around 3,500 people to find out the requirements of every individual — such as farmers, traders, entrepreneurs, students and women. “Once their requirements are known, loans will be given to all people,” he said.

Stating that it was the duty of the Government to provide basic amenities in the rural areas, he said that banks should also come forward to take part in the mission like the UCO Bank. The bank would help to provide all basic amenities, such as sanitation, electricity connection, augmentation of drinking water supply. Besides, it would coordinate in the Tamil Nadu Government’s plan to make the Thiruvenkandamudaiyan Temple in the village a tourist spot.

The bank’s Chairman and Managing Director, S.K. Goyal, said that the bank would adopt four other villages in the country under the scheme. He assured the Finance Minister that efforts would be taken for financial inclusion of all villagers in Ariyakudi by March 2008. The bank would donate for two solar lights and furniture for the Government school.

The Union Minister handed over Rs. One lakh under the scheme to the village panchayat president, A. Siriya Malar, for improving drinking water project. Thanking the bank for coming up with such a beneficial project, the Sivaganga Collector, Pankaj Kumar Bansal assured all cooperation to implement it.

Earlier, the Union Minister handed over Rs. 2.01 crore loan to 22 entrepreneurs who had undergone entrepreneurial development training organised by the Indian Overseas Bank (IOB) at the Rural Training Centre here.

Mr. Chidambaram said that the banks had realised that their duty did not end with merely getting deposits and extending loans. “They should also provide necessary training to make the common man eligible for loans, through which both the banks and the individual benefited,” he said. Hence, the rural training centre, being run by the NABARD, the Indian Bank and the IOB, had trained 1,990 entrepreneurs, including 1,113 women, through 74 camps since its inception in 2005.

The IOB Chairman and Managing Director, S.A. Bhat, that his bank offered special loan scheme to provide modern equipment to skilled workers such as carpenters and plumbers through a tie up with Mico Bosch.

The Minister for Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments, K.R. Periyakaruppan, said that the efforts of the Union Finance Minister had seen more people in the district get benefits from the banks too. The Karaikudi MLA, N. Sundaram, spoke.

Besides, Mr. Chidambaram gave away benefits worth Rs. 3 crores to 179 persons.

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