OREANDA-NEWS.

HDFC Bank Ltd today launched its rural Financial Literacy Initiative in Chhattisgarh under the aegis of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) at the village of Jamgaon, near Raipur. This initiative complements HDFC Bank's efforts to support inclusive growth and take formal banking services to the remote corners of India.

Through this initiative, the bank will conduct a series of 2 literacy camps in each of its rural branches in Chhattisgarh. This is the first programme to be organised by the bank in the state. The launch took place in the presence of Mr Nirmal Chand - General Manager, RBI and other senior officials of the bank.

The Bank will extend its Financial Literacy initiative to 22 villages. HDFC Bank now has 37 branches in Chhattisgarh, of which 24 are located in rural or Semi-urban areas.

These camps will give participants a conceptual understanding of financial products and services, using material provided by the RBI. HDFC Bank will use the Financial Literacy Guide & posters, as the standard curriculum while conducting these camps. This material is currently available in Hindi and English, allowing participants to learn the material in the language they are most comfortable with.

The Financial Literacy Guide is a comprehensive document that contains a note for trainers, guidelines on how to conduct the camps, and financial literacy material. It also contains a Financial Diary to track expenditure and a set of 17 posters. The purpose of this guide is to create financial awareness and educate the common man on a number of topics such as management of money, importance of savings, advantages of saving with banks, other facilities provided by banks and benefits of borrowing from banks.

HDFC Bank has a board mandated objective to bring 10 million families (50 million Indians) into the banking fold. Financial literacy is an essential part of this approach as it empowers people to make informed financial decisions, leading to an overall improvement in their economic life. This initiative is in also accordance with the central bank's recent circular which recommended that banks should scale up financial literacy efforts in rural areas through their branch networks.

Speaking at the launch, Mr Sunil Panjwani, Circle Head, HDFC Bank, said, “Financial literacy is a powerful tool to empower the rural populace. The financial literacy programme, under the guidance of RBI, will help people in rural areas make informed and effective decisions regarding the use and management of their money. Greater knowledge will accelerate the pace of financial inclusion and help the participants plan for big expenses that arise during a person's life cycle.”

Across India, 56% of all branches in HDFC Bank's network are located in semi-urban and rural areas. As of September 30, 2013, the Bank had a distribution network with 3,251 branches and 11,177 ATMs in 2022 cities/towns.