PM’s remarks at dedication of ICICI’s Digital Village to the Nation
Banks should create one lakh Swachhta entrepreneurs within a year
Banks can become agents of social transformation
Prime Minister, Narendra Modi greeting the Sarpanch of Akodara Village Smt. Taraben Patel at the ICICI
Bank’s 60th Anniversary Commemorative event in Mumbai on January 2, 2015.
The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi today called upon banks to create one lakh “Swachhta Entrepreneurs” within a year, to make the “Swachh Bharat” vision a sustainable reality.
He was speaking in Mumbai on the occasion of the dedication of ICICI’s Digital Village to the Nation. The function also marked 60 years of the ICICI group. Shri Narendra Modi complimented the MD and CEO of ICICI Bank, Mrs. Chanda Kochhar for the way she had institutionalized the initiative of Swachh Bharat within her organization. Noting that the experience of the ICICI group over the last sixty years would prove immensely useful to India’s economic development in the years ahead, the Prime Minister urged ICICI Bank to prepare a vision of tangible goals which they would achieve by the time they celebrated the 75th anniversary of ICICI group. As an intermediate target, he also asked the Bank to think of what goals they could achieve by 2022, the 75th anniversary of India’s independence.
The Prime Minister urged ICICI Bank to adopt a social charter of such tangible goals. He said many times one institution takes the lead and others follow, generating momentum towards a good cause.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Maharashtra Governor C. Vidyasagar Rao, Finance Minister, Arun Jaitley and Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadanavis at ICICI Bank’s 60th Anniversary Commemorative event in Mumbai on January 2, 2015.
The Prime Minister spoke of Akodara Village in Gujarat’s Sabarkantha district, chosen by ICICI Bank as a digital village. He said Akodara had a cattle hostel, which had contributed immensely to improving incomes and cleanliness in the village. He said more and more villages across India would adopt this model soon. The Prime Minister said rural development could emerge as a powerhouse of economic development for the country.
Congratulating ICICI Bank and the people of Akodara for creating a cashless economic system. He said banks in India should actually compete for achieving maximum cashless transactions, as this would be the best solution to the problem of black money.
The Prime Minister said people in India had a propensity towards saving, but this was targeted towards gold. The challenge for banks was to assure people that a bank account would ensure easy access to their savings whenever required. He said if banks were able to do so, they could emerge as agents of social transformation.
Finance Minister Arun Jaitley in his remarks said financial inclusion is crucial for promoting economic growth. He said, the Jan Dhan Yojana, launched by the government has met with unprecedented success and the target set has been achieved in December itself.
Speaking about the investment climate in the country, Mr Jaitley said the challenge before the nation is to bring a spurt in the industry, improve infrastructure and revive investments. He said, initial steps taken by the government have created the right atmosphere and now it is time to move in to the next phase. “Both the public sector as well as private banks will be catalysts for growth” he added.
Maharashtra Governor C. Vidyasagar Rao, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, MD & CEO of ICICI Bank Mrs. Chanda Kochhar were also present on the occasion when the Prime Minister dedicated the ‘ Digital Village’ of Akodara in Sabarkantha district of Gujarat to the nation. The Bank has enabled the villagers to use technology in various aspects of life including banking, payments, education and healthcare.
