J&K Bank hosts Secretary DFS Dr. Vivek Joshi

Srinagar, Dec 03: Secretary Department of Financial Services (GoI), Dr. Vivek Joshi said that schemes devised for the welfare of people of the country are really and effectively transforming the lives of people on ground. Joshi made these heartfelt remarks at J&K Bank Corporate headquarters during an event titled ‘Swarozgar Utsav’ on the first day of his visit to J&K.

The event was attended by the Bank’s MD & CEO Baldev Prakash, General Managers, DGMs, entrepreneurs, beneficiaries, farmers, home-stay owners, media persons and other senior officials of the Bank. Representatives of KCCI and CA Stores Association (Lassipora) led by their respective Presidents Javed Ahmad Tenga and Ajaz Ahmad Qureshi were also present on the occasion.

Secretary DFS Dr Vivek Joshi, who was Chief Guest on the occasion, said, “Through my brief interaction with the entrepreneurs manning the stalls established under ‘Swarozgar Utsav’ here, I could see the admirable job J&K Bank is doing in the effective implementation of government schemes here. And I commend you for the deep sense of connect with the beneficiaries that was quite apparent during my interactions with them at the stalls.”

At the event, sanction letters worth Rs 45 Cr were distributed among beneficiaries availing Bank finance under different products and sponsored schemes. A corporate movie capturing the snapshots of Bank’s 85 year journey was also screened on the occasion and was followed by a detailed presentation.

The Chief Guest termed both the movie of Bank’s journey and the presentation on its systemic significance as impressive, saying, ‘The graph of J&K Bank has consistently been on the rise because its leadership has handled all the difficult situations very well like that of COVID19 etc”.

“Now I understand why J&K Bank is the most popular bank here”, he added.

Pitching for the aggressive propagation and implementation of newly launched PM Vishwakarma Scheme, Secretary DFS said, “The scheme has been designed to extend end-to-end holistic support to traditional artists and craftspeople engaged in 18 identified trades through access to skill training, collateral free credit, modern tools, market linkage support and incentive for digital transactions.”

“The scheme has been devised in furtherance of the Prime Minister’s vision of inclusive development, and the idea is to upgrade both the mental horizon and tool-kit of artisans and craftspeople and transform them into entrepreneurs of tomorrow”, he added.

While stressing upon the need to deepen digital penetration, he also urged the banks to scale up the public awareness programs about the digital frauds, which are on the rise across the country. He also said that greater emphasis should be laid on sustained sensitization among the public about updating nomination on periodic basis and regularization of inoperative accounts for their own benefit.

Earlier, Dr Vivek Joshi had a guided tour of the stalls manned by the entrepreneurs who have availed Bank’s finance under various products and different employment generation schemes sponsored by the Government. He interacted with young entrepreneurs and listened to their experiences and feedback about the schemes and services of the Bank.

In his welcome address, MD & CEO Baldev Prakash highlighted the Bank’s lead role in implementing different schemes sponsored by the Union and UT Government. “In addition to that - I feel delighted to share that under the employment generation campaign in J&K titled ‘Swarozgar Utsav’- banks have provided credit of Rs 1598 Cr to around 38000 youth thereby benefiting more than 96,000 persons during the last five months. And being the premier financial institution here, J&K Bank alone has contributed over 90% of the sanctioned credit”, he said.

He further added, “As we talk about the strides that our Bank has made, it is high time to acknowledge the pivotal role that financial inclusion and digital banking are playing in the growth and prosperity of our country. And the credit for all this phenomenal transformation - of making banking and business easy for a common man - goes to the visionary financial leadership of the country that includes dignitaries from the DFS here.”

The function concluded with the vote of thanks presented by the Bank’s General Manager Ashutosh Sareen who extended his heartfelt gratitude to all the participants especially the Chief Guest. “Receiving sanction letters at your hands has boosted the morale of beneficiaries and will motivate them further to become job providers rather than job seekers”, he said.