Admittedly, we enjoy the status of the number one bank in India on different parameters; profitability being one of them. Yet we have not divested ourselves of our concern for the poor. Our bank has a successful track record of achieving all prescribed national goals for poverty alleviation for the last so many years. Despite that, our inner urge to have access to the absolute poor, in the real sense, refrained us from deriving any intrinsic solace from achieving the stipulated targets in a routine manner.

We have started replicating Grameen Bank model in carefully selected and the most poverty stricken villages in Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan- two states of India.
The Grameen Project of our Bank in its initial period of a little over two years has covered more than two dozen villages; disbursed loans aggregating US$ 227,184; mobilised groups and individual saving of US$ 62,158; repaid loans aggergating US$ 130,158 and maintained a record of 100% repayment in weekly meetings.

On the social front, the unelectrified villages have now solar lanterns, a school of their own, walking bridge on a river constructed by villagers themselve to have a link with rest of the world during rains, a hand pump to ward-off compulsion to bring drinking water from a distance of 2-3 kms, a vocational training centre, adult education centre, etc. to name a few. The then poor now use improved agricultural inputs, grow vegetables, dress well and smile.

During the last two years, the Indian banks have not opened a single branch in the rural areas, yet, we opened recently a branch not only in the rural area, but also in the Grameen Project command area - exclusively for the poor. Our endeavour is to expand Grameen Project to cover more villages and to make it financially viable and sustainable.

Time permitting, my desire remains to visit Grameen Bank for a couple of days to witness for myself your experiences in combating poverty. I am told, Grameen Bank has various channels for disemination of training skills through regular courses /seminars /dialogues/workshops etc. I would request you to keep our bank on your mailing list so that we may avail ourselves of the facilities offered by Grameen Bank. We would also like to sponsor our officers for training at Grameen Bank for regular courses details of which may kindly be forwarded to us.