The Hindu Business Line : Taking banking to Dharavi's poor

Advertisement

Mumbai Feb. 18 Stand at one of Mumbai's busiest malls and you will be hounded by salespersons trying to sell a credit card or a new scheme by some bank. Banks come to doorsteps to advertise their products and claim that they are a click away on Internet. ATMs are fitted into malls and cinema halls. Once you drive through the narrow lanes of Asia's largest slum, Dharavi, away from the "champagne glass society", as Muhammad Yunus put it, banking is far. Far from the reach of many.

Around 90 per cent of the population at Dharavi do not have access to bank accounts while about 80 per cent have not used any banking services.

"I had kept some amount as deposit with a co-operative bank at Dharavi, but the bank closed down. Then I approached a private sector bank to open an account but the procedures took very long," said 35-year-old Dhanalakshmi Anandraj, a resident of Dharavi. Her fluency in English coupled with her careful use of language represents just another side of Dharavi.

In the slum, a few like Dhanalakshmi are educated and aware but never accepted by the norms of modern banking, especially private sector banking. "The moment these private banks hear that I am from Dharavi, there is some sort of a bias. With a nationalised bank's branch in our area I am secure and confident of my finances," she said with a twinkle in her eyes.

Dhanalakshmi is an entrepreneur in her own league. She owns a hotel, an audio-CD shop and also does insurance consultancy for New India Assurance. She assists her husband and handles the financial aspect of their business.

She is one of the lakhs in Dharavi for whom Indian Bank's branch at Dharavi is nothing but a step to fulfil their entrepreneurial dreams. Dharavi is spread across an area of 1.75 sq km with a population of about 10 lakh living in about 1.25 lakh households.

"I will have access to banking services like a credit card and a debit card. Now, I can dream of expanding my business by taking a loan from this bank," said Dhanalakshmi.

Little Japan

Dharavi is an unorganised, unregulated industrial estate, called by many as the "Little Japan", where the people are engaged in businesses of plastics, leather, eateries, garments, jewellery, among others. It is a hub of entrepreneurs trying to manage a day of survival.

According to Indian Bank's officials, trading activity worth over Rs 3,000 crore per annum take place. Leather business alone has an average turnover of around Rs 3 crore-Rs 4 crore per annum. Forty per cent of the residents hold permanent jobs, 35 per cent are self-employed and 10 per cent are employed on temporary basis. Of the total population, around 40 per cent come from different districts in Tamil Nadu, especially Tirunelveli and Salem.

Saving for the future is as much a distant dream for them as much as they feel it is a necessity. "At Dharavi, several people are suffering from AIDS. For them, savings is a necessity. We are counselling the women to save for their kids. They normally go to money lenders who charged them exorbitant rates," said Vandana, a social worker for Chirag, an NGO, in the region. Vandana is a facilitator for Indian Bank to form SHG groups. "We involve the women in activities like tailoring, jewellery making and eateries," she said.

One of the SHG leaders, Shanti, a mother of two, said banking was alien to her but now her financial independence gives her immense confidence. Shanti's group saves around Rs 100 a month and is into making candles.

Spread across an area of 2,400 sq ft, Indian Bank's Dharavi branch will be fully computerised with ATM facility. Apart from providing the traditional banking products, the bank will provide locker and remittances facility. "The migrant workers mainly save their money through chits and they carry cash along with them whenever they visit their native places, involving a risk element," said an official from Dharavi branch. There are migrant workers, working at courier offices, construction sites, diamond factories, among others. The bank plans to introduce biometric cards in the region.

ATM cards have been issued to 3,000 account holders. Around 7,000 persons in Dharavi have been provided with banking facility by Indian Bank.

Residents of Dharavi, have flocked to the area outside Indian Bank's branch, eager to step inside their first commercial bank, air-conditioned and fully computerised. With channel music in the background at the bank's branch, banking is finally set to become financially inclusive.

Article E-Mail :: Comment :: Syndication :: Printer Friendly Page

Stories in this Section
A new venue, after 31 years

It all started in 1976

Taking banking to Dharavi's poor