The Raipur regional office of the Union Bank of India has put forward a unique proposal to the Central Jail Administration at Jagdalpur in Bastar region to offer loans to those prisoners who complete their term and come out as skilled workers after learning various trades while in prison.
The loan, the bank proposed, could help the reformed and skilled prisoners open their own enterprises for manufacturing the items for which they were trained while serving their term.
“The Bank has also proposed to open savings accounts of the prisoners which could help deposit the sum earned by them for their work while in jail,” Deputy General Manager of Union Bank of India, Regional Office Raipur, Mukund Dongre informed at a day-long workshop titled ‘Facilitating Credit for MSMEs’ organised jointly by PHD Chamber of Commerce & Industry (PHDCCI) and Konrad Adenauer Stiftung at Hotel G T Star in Raipur on Friday.
‘On my visit to the Jagdalpur Central Jail premises sometime back, I found that the prisoners are doing fantastic work while making furniture, metal art and many other items of very high quality. The prisoners, I was informed were trained for the work. These prisoners could be offered loans to start their own enterprises after they are released from prison on the trades that they have learnt’, he said.
Dongre stated that the Union Bank of India has various schemes for MSMEs; the credit is given by the bank without collateral security. Dr Sanjeev Sharma, General Manager, Reserve Bank of India said in his address remarked : “According to the economic survey, 2011– 12 “MSME is a dynamic and vibrant sector that nurtures entrepreneurial talent besides meeting social objectives, including that of providing employment to millions of people across the country”
He also stated that Banks could set up special industrial and management consultancy departments to address functional inadequacies and market gaps. Bank branches need to ensure greater participation in the affairs of their MSME clients by convergence of credit services and non credit services. Banks need to innovate to create products specifically suited to the requirements of MSMEs and should take a longer term view of its relationship with such entities while pricing such products Sharma said.
Pradeep Tandon, Chairman PHDCCI, Chhattisgarh Committee, said “Our dream of inclusive growth will not be completed until we create millions of micro – entrepreneurs across the country and support all budding entrepreneurs to face challenges and find Solutions”. “To sum up, financial inclusion is the road that India needs to travel towards becoming a global player. Financial access will attract global market player to our country and that will result in increasing employment and business opportunities” he said.
Devendra Pal Grover, Assistant General Manager, Bank of Baroda said that Bank of Baroda also has several schemes for MSMEs, a separate division named “SME Factory” is formed by Bank of Baroda to facilitate the MSMEs
The objective of the workshop was to deliberate on the credit policies of the commercial banks and financial institutions and the various parameters used by them for evaluating and accepting the projects in various business sectors proposed by the industry. Innovations in financial products and services by private equity investors, venture capital funds, measures to overcome the problems of lack of availability of adequate and timely credit to the industry, high cost of credit, collateral requirements, limited access to equity capital etc. and related issues of concern to the members was highlight on this workshop.
In the workshop The Union bank of India and Bank of Baroda presented their various policies for MSMEs and The Credit Rating Company SMERA, Kolkata has delivered the policies and advantages of CREDIT Ratings for Industries. In the workshop some local Self Help Groups (SHGs) also participated and displayed their home made product. This initiative was appreciated by Dr Sanjeev Sharma, General Manager, Reserve Bank of India.
The wokshop was attended by students from various management institutes, entrepreneurs and representatives from major industrial houses.