Rural women of Kutch save in the bank and get crores of loans Rural women of Kutch get crores of loans by saving in banks

The rural women of Kutch, who save by collecting one rupee in a box at a time, are getting crores of loans by saving in the bank. In Kutch, thousands of women who used to save in spice or flour boxes at home, have today become adept at bank savings and banking transactions by ‘Bank Sakhi’. Today many women are doing successful business through sakhi mandals due to Sikh learning including baking practices. Last year, ‘Bank Sakhi’, a village-to-village operation in Kutch, provided cash-credited loans of Rs 23.70 crore to 1887 self-help groups by making women climb the steps of the bank.

Especially for operations like opening self-help group savings accounts, filling slips for financial transactions, getting documents regarding loan approval, etc., one has to sit in the bank for hours, so that the sisters, who were also employed that day, used to break. To get rid of all the problems related to banks, ‘Bank Sakhis’ have been appointed and today as many as 114 ‘Bank Sakhis’ are functioning in Kutch. Only rural educated women get employment by appointing as ‘Bank Sakhi’ and moreover ‘Bank Sakhi’ which is one of that village can work with women of that village with confidence.

There are many bank branches like Nagalpar, Galpadar, Kukma, Mankuwa, Ghaduli, Sanyara, Padampur, Shirwa, Matana Madh where more than 50 lakh cash credit loans have been extended to self-help groups. Some bank branches have reached close to 1 crore.