OREANDA-NEWS. August 24, 2015.  The Union Finance Minister Shri Arun Jaitley said 25 crore families could be brought under financial inclusion by the Jan Dhan Yojana alone. Inaugurating the Bandhan Bank, the first commercial bank from Eastern India to get RBI clearance since independence, Shri Jaitley said 17.5 crore bank accounts have been opened in Jan Dhan Yojana scheme so far. Appreciating the performance of Bandhan, as a NBFC since 2001 he said the NPA of Bandhan is very small and as it commits, Bandhan will concentrate on financing the small and medium enterprises (SME). In this context, the Union Finance Minister cautioned the new Bank to keep their focus to serve the weaker sections of the society unchanged, most of whom are among the 75 lakh customer of Bandhan Financial Services .

Speaking on the Social Security Schemes, he added that expansion of these Schemes will help the banking segment grow. The MUDRA agency, he mentioned, has so far been able to finance the unfunded section of the society and it will continue to play the same role.

Bandhan, the new born member of Indian banking industry has started operating today with 501 branches all over the country. The bank is beginning its operations with 1.43 crore accounts, 10,448 crore loan and 19500 employees and already has a presence in 24 states, said Shri Chandra Sekhar Ghosh, the Managing Director and Founder of the Bank.

West Bengal Finance Minister Shri Amit Mitra, and RBI Deputy Governor Shri H.R.Khan also addressed the ceremony.