* Mr. V. Jaya Chandra, Chairman, MRB
* Officers and staff of MRB
* Invitees
* Dear friends

I am delighted to be the Chief Guest at today’s programme on the opening of the 100th Mizoram Rural Bank (MRB) Branch. I begin by congratulating the Chairman and all the members of the MRB family for this momentous achievement. Today is an occasion for celebration not only for MRB, but for the whole State of Mizoram as well.

On March of this year, I held a meeting with the MRB Chairman and his team for detailed discussions at Raj Bhavan. I am very happy to say that I was impressed by the good work done by MRB. I have particularly noted that the MRB has by far the widest network coverage of bank branches in the State, which has culminated in the opening of the 100th Branch today. MRB is the largest lender in the State, and is also the second-largest bank in terms of deposits, next only to its sponsor bank, SBI.

It is the best bank in Mizoram in terms of disbursement of SHG loan. The Mizoram Rural Bank also has the highest productivity per Branch among all the Regional Rural Banks (RRBs) in the country.

I am happy to note that Mizoram itself seems to perform extremely well in terms of financial inclusion. With a population of approximately 12 lakhs and around 3 lakh households, it is safe to assume that almost all families have at least one bank account.
T
oday, we can improve one step further by promoting and embracing digital and financial literacy, including the safe and secure use of online transactions and digital payments.

I wish to take this opportunity to remind that the banks have a special role to play in the implementation of the various government schemes. There are many Central Government Schemes which are extremely useful and beneficial for the common people.

These include the Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana, Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana, Atal Pension Yojana, Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi, PM SVANidhi, etc. In all these schemes, the banks have a higher responsibility, and a major role to play in taking these Schemes to the common people. While acknowledging the fact that MRB itself has performed very well on this front, I want to encourage you to continue leading from the front by constantly performing even better.

It is my sincere appeal to all the other banks as well, to go the extra mile in making sure that these Schemes reach the intended common people. I am sure you will all agree that we can still be more proactive in bringing these Schemes to the maximum people possible.

I am particularly glad to know that the 100th MRB Branch being opened today is an MSME specialised full-fledged Branch.

This will help in stepping up credit to the MSME sector, and enable entrepreneurs to have easy access to bank credit. Though the core target will be for extending finance and other services to MSME sector, they will have operational flexibility to extend finance and render other services to other sectors and borrowers as well. Therefore, I am certain that this Centennial Branch will be an immense blessing to the people in many ways.

Lastly, I have been told that the MRB Banks are approachable, and that a friendly cordial relationship is maintained with the customers. I have learnt that people have a very good perception of MRB, and truly consider it as their own bank. I urge the MRB to keep up the good work, and continue this special connection with the people.

Once again, I congratulate the Chairman, the officers and staff of MRB, and it is my wish that this 100th MRB Branch will be a blessing to the people of Mizoram.

Thank you.
Jai Hind.