SBI, Hero Honda in bike deal for Uttar Pradesh farmers

The State Bank of India and Hero Honda have joined hands to help the farmers of Uttar Pradesh. The country's largest bank and the top motorbike maker signed a deal in Lucknow today for financing two-wheelers for the state's farmers

The deal envisages SBI financing in the rural areas and attractive cash discounts by the company. Hero Honda is targeting sales of 250,000 two-wheelers in the rural areas in the current financial year and the tie-up is aimed at synergising the marketing and servicing strengths of the two giants.

The memorandum of understanding was signed by Awadesh Kumar, deputy general manager (agriculture), SBI, and Sanjay Bhan, zonal head, Honda Motors, Lucknow, in the presence of Shiva Kumar, chief general manager, SBI, Lucknow circle.

Speaking on the occasion, Kumar said, "Lack of good public transport facilities in the rural areas keeps the farmers tied to their villages. The motorbike is an affordable facility that will empower the farmers by giving them the mobility to save time and energy in day-to-day operations".

He added, "The bank has targeted disbursing Rs 1,500 crore in the agriculture sector in the current year in UP."

The bank has also set a target of Rs 750 crore for agriculture lending for the remaining period of the current fiscal in the Lucknow circle. This will include issuing 115,000 kisan credit cards, 6,000 kisan gold cards, 13,000 tractors and 7,000 dairy units.

Similarly, a target of Rs 800 crore has been set for lending to small- and -medium-scale enterprises (SMEs), small-scale industries (SSIs), and for trade and services (Rs 93 crore for SSIs). This includes 3,350 trade advances, 5,500 SME credit cards, 1,400 mortgage loans and 1,350 SSI loans.

It has been estimated that around 200,000 people will get employment from SBI's financial assistance during the current financial year.