The State Bank of India has recorded impressive all-round growth during December 31 years ending, as revealed by the Chairman, State Bank of India Mr V N Nadkarni, in his speech at the annual general meeting held recently at Hyderabad.
During the last calendar year, the State Bank recorded as rise of Rs. 2,317 crores in deposits in India – a all-time record. In advances, there was a rise of Rs. 1,143 crores.
Mr Nadkarni said that the Bank expanded its branch network by opening 314 new branches, of which 265 (84%) were in rural and semi-urban areas and nearly 37% were in relative under banked states. During the current year, the thrust of branch opening would be on the Regional Rural Banks sponsored by the State Bank.
In the field of priority sector advances, the SBI registered a growth of Rs. 719 crores, taking the percentage to 39.7% of the total advances as against 40% stipulated by the Govt to be reached by March 1985. under the scheme for Self Employment to Educated Unemployed Youth (SEEUY), out of the total Rs. 325 crores envisaged for all banks, State Bank’s share was Rs. 90 crore to be given to about 71,000 beneficiaries. Upto the 31st March the last, the Bank had sanctioned SEEUY loans aggregating Rs. 122 crores to 71,600 beneficiaries, he informed.
During 1983, Mr Nadkarni said, credit disbursed by the Bank under Integrated Rural Development Programme (IRDP) was of the order of Rs. 130 crores covering about 5 lac beneficiaries whereas Rs. 365 crores of financial assistance was extended under the 20 point programme.
The State Bank has so far conducted 81 Entrepreneurial Development (EDPs) and is now contemplating to set up and institute so that the EDP activities will not only be institutionalized, but a review and evaluation on a continuing basis will also be available.
In order to ensure prompt service to customers, the Bank has installed 256 ledger posting machines at 95 branches so far and is now in the process of mechanizing 50 more branches. For improving telecommunication system in the Bank, SBI has decided to install electronic exchanges at 15 centres, linking Central Office, all Local Head offices, Regional offices, and branches at several important centres with each other, he added.
The Chairman said aid that during the year the Bank added four more offices to its Overseas office network, with a full-fledged branch at Antwerp in Belgium, two representative offices at Moscow and Milan and a management contract with an exchange company at Doha (Qatar). The Bank’s international presence is at 44 centres in 28 countries.