Indian Bank opens 4 more branches

Indian Bank, a major public sector bank, is set to open four more microsat (a satellite branch for micro loans) branches in Bhubaneshwar, New Delhi, Pune, and Bangalore by the end of this year, taking the total number of microsat branches to 12.

It was the first bank to introduce exclusive microcredit branches to provide credit to Self-Help Groups (SHGs). It currently has eight exclusive microcredit branches, including the one opened in Chennai (second branch in the city) on Saturday.

So far, 6,982 groups have been provided a credit of Rs 56.42 crore through microsat branches, which also provides non-credit services such as training, counselling and marketing besides catering to the credit needs of the urban poor, said Chairman and Managing Director M S Sundara Rajan.

"The bank has credit linked over 2.30 lakh SHGs to the tune of Rs 1,545.48 crore. To meet the needs of the urban poor in Chennai, a microsat branch was opened in May 2005 in Chetpet. The branch has covered over 101,000 families in Chennai. Consequently, six more branches were opened in Patna, Vijayawada, Hyderabad, Nadiad (Ahmedabad), Kollam (Kerala) and Kolkata during first half of FY08," he added.

The second microsat branch in Chennai will cater to SHGs formed in the neighbourhood of Mylapore, Teynampet, Besant Nagar, Adyar, Tiruvanmaiyur, Indira Nagar, Velacherry, Taramani, Siruseri, Sholinganallur and nearby areas.

Apart from direct loans, tailor-made loan products such as Vidya Shoba (an educational loan scheme) and Grihalakshmi (a housing loan scheme) are being implemented for the benefit of SHG members.

The branches also offer them a life insurance scheme (Janashree Bima Yojana) and a health insurance scheme (universal health care scheme) at low premium.