BoB ropes in TCS to cover 750 villages in Gujarat

Bank of Baroda (BoB) aims to cover 750 villages of Gujarat with a population less than 2000 people by way of information and communication technologies (ICT) model.

“As per Reserve Bank of India’s guidelines to provide banking facility in every village of India, we are aiming to cover 750 villages of Gujarat by 2010-11. We have done it on a pilot basis and now aim to introduce it across the villages of Gujarat through Tata Consultancy Service,” S K Das, General Manager, BoB, Gujarat Operations told Business Standard.

The bank, through the business correspondent model, will use cell phones and smart cards to reach out to customers in rural areas.

 

Micro and small and medium enterprises (MSME) segment has been one of the main drivers of growth for the bank. For the current year, the bank has garnered business worth Rs 4,000 crore from agriculture sector while MSME sector has contributed Rs 4100 crore in the state.

“There has been a 35 per cent growth in MSME sector so far this year,” according to Das. As part of its initiative to empower rural youth, Bank of Baroda recently set up Baroda Swarojgar Vikas Sansthans in Gujarat. Five such centres already exist in the state in an attempt to promote self-employment and generate job opportunities in rural areas to prevent migration to urban centers, according to Das.

BoB recently opened its 700th branch in Gujarat at Kharel in Valsad district. The bank aims to add 25 more branches in 2011-2012, Das said.

The nationalised bank at present had 3,100 branches in India and 78 abroad and all its branches are covered under core banking solutions.

The bank's business in Gujarat stands at 56,000 crore so far this year, which is more than many of the mid-sized banks in the country.