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
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.
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.
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.
Earlier, Akodara village of Sabarkantha
District in Gujarat was formally dedicated as a digital village by the Prime
Minister.
Governor of Maharashtra Shri Vidyasagar Rao,
Chief Minister of Maharashtra Shri Devendra Fadnavis, Finance Minister Shri
Arun Jaitley, and MD & CEO of ICICI Bank Mrs. Chanda Kochhar were present
on the occasion.
