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Economics professor starts micro finance bank for women
Mrs. Chetna Gala Sinha established Mann Deshi Mahila Sahakari Bank (MDMSB) in Mhaswad, in Satara district in the year 1997. The bank is exclusively for women. Mrs. Sinha started the micro finance institution with the aim to help women in the village to save the money. However, slowly and gradually the operations of MDMSB expanded and it started all the features of any other bank. Bank is headquartered at Mhaswad and has branches in rural Maharashtra. “In rural India cash flows revolve around agriculture and money in agriculture or any farming vertical is always unstable and meager. Therefore all our bank products are customized as per the rural customer requirements,” she asserts. Cattle camp is another initiative of Mrs. Sinha that has brought in remarkable change in the life of many farmers.
During her college days in Mumbai Mrs. Sinha actively participated in Jai Prakash Narayan movement (JP Movement). Here she met her husband, Mr. Vijay Sinha who was a farmer in Mhaswad village, Satara distirct, Maharashtra. “We both were actively involved in bringing positive change in the life of a farmer. I realized that real life problems of farmers are quite different and if it needs to be solved then I have to be closely associated with it at the ground level. That was way back in 1986. So I left my job as economics professor and joined by husband in his farming activities at Mhaswad,” she says. Later moved with life challenges of women in village she set up the bank with their assistance and motivation.
MDMSB is unique in more than one ways as it goes to the account holders’ doorstep for money related transaction, instead of a passbook a ‘electronic card’ is issued that reveals all the transactions made in the account and opens the account with zero balance. Loans are given for farming and education. Micro ATM cards are issued to facilitate money deposit and withdraw right from the door step. Pension scheme is bright offering of the bank for its customers. Bank has more than 225 thousand accounts and the business crosses Rs. 100 crore annually.
Cattle camp is one stop for water and fodder for livestock. It is the community driven project, “Where loads and loads of fodder comes every day. Help is received from all over. Every farmer is given the photo id having details of the animals. Water and fodder is provided at the shed where cattle are placed,” she explains the working of cattle camp. It serves more than 5 thousand farmers and 14 thousand animals. It is home away from home.
Speaking of challenges she says, “Technology solution providers’ claim to solve all the problems but it is very expensive! If selling cost of food products or salaries of people are compared with technology then definitely technology is more costly. I wish the providers can bring down the cost.”
Sharing future plans she concludes, “We want to reach 1 million women entrepreneurs by the year 2020. Secondly we want to expand our operations to other states precisely north east starting from Assam.”
Contact details:
Mann Deshi Mahila Sahakari Bank Ltd.
Mhaswad Tal. Mann Dist.- Satara ,
Postal Code 415509
Maharashtra, India.
Phone: +91-23732-70141, 1800 2122 112
Email: chetnavsinha@gmail.com, chetna_sinha@manndeshi.org
Web: http://www.manndeshibank.com/
Mrs. Chetna Gala Sinha established Mann Deshi Mahila Sahakari Bank (MDMSB) in Mhaswad, in Satara district in the year 1997. The bank is exclusively for women. Mrs. Sinha started the micro finance institution with the aim to help women in the village to save the money. However, slowly and gradually the operations of MDMSB expanded and it started all the features of any other bank. Bank is headquartered at Mhaswad and has branches in rural Maharashtra. “In rural India cash flows revolve around agriculture and money in agriculture or any farming vertical is always unstable and meager. Therefore all our bank products are customized as per the rural customer requirements,” she asserts. Cattle camp is another initiative of Mrs. Sinha that has brought in remarkable change in the life of many farmers.
During her college days in Mumbai Mrs. Sinha actively participated in Jai Prakash Narayan movement (JP Movement). Here she met her husband, Mr. Vijay Sinha who was a farmer in Mhaswad village, Satara distirct, Maharashtra. “We both were actively involved in bringing positive change in the life of a farmer. I realized that real life problems of farmers are quite different and if it needs to be solved then I have to be closely associated with it at the ground level. That was way back in 1986. So I left my job as economics professor and joined by husband in his farming activities at Mhaswad,” she says. Later moved with life challenges of women in village she set up the bank with their assistance and motivation.
MDMSB is unique in more than one ways as it goes to the account holders’ doorstep for money related transaction, instead of a passbook a ‘electronic card’ is issued that reveals all the transactions made in the account and opens the account with zero balance. Loans are given for farming and education. Micro ATM cards are issued to facilitate money deposit and withdraw right from the door step. Pension scheme is bright offering of the bank for its customers. Bank has more than 225 thousand accounts and the business crosses Rs. 100 crore annually.
Cattle camp is one stop for water and fodder for livestock. It is the community driven project, “Where loads and loads of fodder comes every day. Help is received from all over. Every farmer is given the photo id having details of the animals. Water and fodder is provided at the shed where cattle are placed,” she explains the working of cattle camp. It serves more than 5 thousand farmers and 14 thousand animals. It is home away from home.
Speaking of challenges she says, “Technology solution providers’ claim to solve all the problems but it is very expensive! If selling cost of food products or salaries of people are compared with technology then definitely technology is more costly. I wish the providers can bring down the cost.”
Sharing future plans she concludes, “We want to reach 1 million women entrepreneurs by the year 2020. Secondly we want to expand our operations to other states precisely north east starting from Assam.”
Contact details:
Mann Deshi Mahila Sahakari Bank Ltd.
Mhaswad Tal. Mann Dist.- Satara ,
Postal Code 415509
Maharashtra, India.
Phone: +91-23732-70141, 1800 2122 112
Email: chetnavsinha@gmail.com, chetna_sinha@manndeshi.org
Web: http://www.manndeshibank.com/