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INAUGURATES FIRST ALL-WOMEN BHARATIYA MAHILA BANK IN MUMBAI
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and UPA
Chairperson Sonia Gandhi jointly inaugurated the country's first all-women
Bharatiya Mahila Bank in Mumbai on Tuesday, marking the birth anniversary of
former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi.
The first all-women Bharatiya Mahila Bank, a
pioneering initiative to empower women, was today launched with a corpus of Rs
1,000 crore to function as a universal bank.
Coinciding with the 96th birthday of late Indira Gandhi, Prime Minister
Manmohan Singh inaugurated the first of its seven branches at a function in
Mumbai in the presence of UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi, coalition leaders
Sharad Pawar and Farooq Abdullah, besides Finance Minister P Chidambaram.
Maharashtra Governor K Sankaranarayanan and Chief Minister Prithiviraj Chavan
were also present at the launch of the bank which was announced in this year's
Budget.
Inaugurating the bank, the Prime Minister emphasised that a lot more was needed
to be done to empower women and ensure their safety.
"We have strengthened the law to provide for harsher punishment for sexual
offences against women, but much more needs to be done. It is an acknowledged
fact that access to finance and banking not only helps to empower women, but
also broadens the social base of development," he said.
The bank begins operations with seven branches.
It will be a universal bank, but will primarily serve women, taking care of
their special needs and requirements.
The number of branches will go up to 25 by March-end. Singh said Mahila Bank
was only "a small step" in the direction of empowering women.
Sonia Gandhi, in her speech, recalled the contribution of Indira Gandhi towards
poverty alleviation and women empowerment.
According to Chidambaram, the board of the Mahila Bank was constituted with the
induction of eight women members. This will be the first all-women board of a
PSU bank.
Sonia Gandhi in her address said, "We observe the birth anniversary of
Indira Gandhi, there have been many events to commemorate this day, but nothing
can be a more appropriate tribute to her life and work than the inauguration of
Bharatiya Mahila Bank, which aims to provide financial services to women in
general and women self-help groups in particular".
"All through her life Indira Gandhi was guided by a passionate commitment
to her country and her people and was fearless in defending their
interest," she said.
The Prime Minister said the government is also in the process of amending laws
to make them more gender sensitive and to enable them to effectively address
issues of persistent gender discrimination.
The government has legislated 30 per cent of seats for women in rural and urban
local bodies in as many as 15 states, he said, adding that 50 per cent of seats
for women are reserved at grassroots level.
"The setting up of Bharatiya Mahila Bank is a small step towards the
economic empowerment for women. It is also a reflection of our deep commitment
to this cause," he said.
The government has appointed Usha Ananthasubramanian as the first Chairperson
and Managing Director of the Mahila Bank.
Other directors of the bank include Chhavi Rajawat, Nupur Mitra, Priya Kumar,
Renuka Ramnath and Tanya Dubash. The moto of new bank is 'Empowering Women and
Empowering India'.
Women face discrimination, empowerment distant goal:
PM
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today said it is a "sad reality" that
women in India face discrimination at home and workplace and their empowerment
remains a distant goal.
"We had a woman President and now have a woman Speaker of Lok Sabha, a
woman leader of the opposition in Lok Sabha and two women chief
ministers".
"The President of the largest and oldest political party in India is also
a distinguished woman leader who we are privileged to have in our midst. A
recent global top 50 businesswomen survey included four Indian women".
"However, all this does not reflect the average reality of women in our
country. The sad reality is that women in India face discrimination and
hardship at home, school, at their places of work and in public places,"
he said, speaking at the inaugural function of India's first all-women bank
-Bharatiya Mahila Bank, in Mumbai.
"Women's social, economic and political empowerment remains a distant
goal," he said.
"We have gathered here to witness the beginning of a unique new
institution," Singh said, adding, "the bank will provide financial
services predominantly to women and women self-help groups."
"I compliment my friend and colleague Finance Minister P Chidambaram and
his team for conceiving the bank and making it a reality within a very short
period," he said.
"It is befitting that the bank is being inaugurated on the birth
anniversary of the great woman of our country Indira Gandhi, among the tallest
leaders our country has produced. She was a source of inspiration for all of
us," he said.
Congress President Sonia Gandhi, Chidambaram and Union ministers Sharad Pawar,
Farooq Abdullah and Praful Patel were among those present.
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