The State Bank of India (SBI) is eyeing almost 25 per cent growth in its micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) portfolio of Rs 4,000 crore in Uttar Pradesh during the current financial year.
MSME accounts for a third of the bank’s total lending of about Rs 13,000 crore in SBI’s Lucknow circle, which covers 57 out of UP’s 73 districts.
“We target to grow the MSME portfolio of Rs 4,000 crore by 20-25 per cent by the end of this financial year,” SBI chief general manager Abhay Kumar Singh told Business Standard here. The bank has undertaken programmes to reach out to the sector, including Entrepreneurship Development Programme (EDP) and Management Appreciation Programme (MAP). While EDP has been rolled out, MAP is being given final shape and would be launched soon.
“MAP would comprise a series of three-day workshops in major MSME centres, including Lucknow and Kanpur. We are in the process of tying up with reputed institutions to conduct sessions on entrepreneurship, taxation, HR and general management,” he informed.
SBI has already launched EDP in partnership with Entrepreneurship Development Institute of India, Lucknow University, Central Food Technological Research Institute , Central Institute of Plastics Engineering and Technology and Small Industries Development Bank of India. EDP is aimed at inculcating entrepreneurship development skills in youth aged 18 years and above with minimum education of 10+2.
It provides guidance about starting industrial venture — details of the project, feasibility of the project, funding/ finances available, agencies to be approached etc.
SBI’s Lucknow circle spans over 1,200 branches, 1,225 ATMs and 700 customer service points. The bank has plans to open 40 new branches and installing 900 new ATMs this year.
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In financial inclusion space, SBI is confident of achieving its target of providing banking facilities to 1,418 un-banked villages with population over 2,000 by this December.
Recently, SBI had launched its first specialised NRI branch in UP at Lucknow.
The bank plans to open three more such branches in UP — at Kanpur, Gorakhpur and Deoria.
SBI business portfolio from NRI segment in UP is over Rs 1,200 crore, the bulk of which is deposits vis-à-vis advances. “This segment is small compared to our total business portfolio in UP and we want to increase this portfolio by providing value added services to customers,” he added.
“We are creating a database of NRIs from UP to proactively reach out to them,” Singh added.