The President of India, Pranab Mukherjee attended the first Foundation Day of Bandhan Bank in Kolkata, West Bengal today .Speaking on the occasion, the President said that he was happy to be present on the occasion of the first anniversary of the setting up of the Bandhan Bank. He had been invited to inaugurate the start of the Bandhan Bank last year but could not do so because of certain compelling reasons. The President said that in October 2010, in his village Kirnahar, he first got an opportunity to know Bandhan and its founder Shri Chandrashekhar Ghosh at a function for rural borrowers. He was interested in learning the story of Shri Ghosh of organizing self - help groups and its working effectively to provide micro-finance to poor people.
The President said that he has closely watched the development of the banking sector over the years as Minister of Banking and Revenue, Finance Minister and Deputy Chairman of Planning Commission. He said that in 2010 it was decided that the Reserve Bank of India would soon open up the banking sector for financial inclusion. It gave him satisfaction thatthree years later, when Reserve Bank asked for applications seeking bank licenses, Bandhan bank was one of those, who applied for it and got it successfully. The first year's performance of Bandhan Bank is encouraging. It was important to provide facilities and reach out to those people who did not have access to them.