SBI changing lives

The State Bank of India (SBI) is the largest bank of India with the widest spread. Its branches are spread all over, right into every nook and cranny, every village covered. It would be no exaggeration to say that SBI inculcated the culture of banking in India.

And now we learn that it’s 15-day training program -  Rural Self Employment Training Institute (RSETI) has changed lives, helping rural households earn a living. Its training program has helped some 139,805 rural youth get employment out of the 295,830 that SBI has trained since 2009 at its 11,160 RSETI programmes across 116 branches. It has, over the past one year, substantially scaled up the initiative by tying up with several companies such as Larsen & Toubro, Kansai-Nerolac Paints, Ambuja Cements and TVS Motors. The aim is to generate opportunities for people at the bottom of the pyramid.

SBI is today a name to reckon with in this field and encourages self-employment in rural areas through RSETI. More recently, it was at the forefront of opening no-frills accounts under the Prime Minister Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY).

The best news – it keeps track of its students for two years to check on their development and ensure that they are employed. It is also using the RSETI platform to teach people about banking. Now this is what we call inclusive banking in the truest sense.