YES Bank, the fourth largest private sector lender, in the country plans to develop co-operative tourism in rural Bengal that will showcase heritage sites and the livelihood of the people living in the region.
The project is funded by the Scottish government through its South Asia Development Programme. "It is a two-year grooming programme. We are the country advisor for the project," Sandip Kar, executive vice president and regional leader of YES Bank, told Business Standard.
As part of this project the bank aims to form a network of co-operative organisations that will be led by a team of local coordinators.
The bank in partnership with the state government is also offering a comprehensive training programme to the local coordinators.
In the initial stage home stays will be developed near Ayodhya Hills. It is aimed to attract foreign tourists in the state.
Separately, Kar said the bank aims to expand its branch network in the state to 30 by March, 2015. The private lender currently has seven branches in West Bengal.
It has also been awarded a contract by Indian Railways to set up 19 automated teller machines (ATMs) in metro rail stations across Kolkata.
The bank has already opened six ATM counters in metro stations across the city.
Currently, the lender has 22 offsite ATMs in Kolkata.
