Srinagar, February 08, 2016:HDFC Bank launched Financial Literacy Initiative for Small, Medium and Micro enterprises in Jammu, under the aegis of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). Under this initiative, HDFC Bank will conduct financial literacy camps in Pulwama, Rajouri, Kupwara, Poonch, and Budgam districts in the state. This initiative complements HDFC Bank’s efforts to support inclusive growth and take formal banking services to the remote corners of India and reach out to people in general as well as entrepreneurs running Small, Medium and Micro enterprises and Agri businesses.
This initiative is in accordance with RBI’s recent communication which recommended that banks should scale up financial literacy efforts to increase awareness of banking products with special emphasis on credit available to farmers & entrepreneurs for SMEs and Agri related facilities.
At a function organized in Jammu, Mr. Ramesh Chand, General Manager – J&K, RBI, inaugurated the initiative and handed over sanction letters to SME customers, in the presence of Mr Zubair Iqbal, Senior Vice President and Circle Head – J&K, HDFC Bank, Mr. Rajkamal Vardharajan, Head – Key Accounts, HDFC Bank and other senior officials of the bank.“Financial Literacy camps empower entrepreneurs to make informed and effective decisions regarding the use and management of their money,” says Mr Zubair Iqbal, Senior Vice President and Circle Head – J&K, HDFC Bank.“Micro, Small & Medium enterprise segments are crucial for the bank and we have special emphasis on each of these segments in J&K.,” says Mr. Rajkamal Vardharajan, Head – Key Accounts, HDFC Bank
Through this initiative, the bank will conduct literacy camps in the five districts in the state. 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 has been made available in Urdu, 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.