NATION'S FIRST ALL-WOMEN BANK LAUNCHED

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and the Congress president Sonia Gandhion November 19, 2013 launched the nation's first all-women Bharatiya Mahila Bank (BMB) in Mumbai through a video-conference, while the Finance Minister P. Chidambaram was also present during the event. 

The ceremony coincided with the birth anniversary of former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi.The Election Commission allowed the launch of the bank but had asked the government not to open its branches or do its publicity in poll-bound states. The government had wanted to launch the bank in Delhi but changed its plan in view of the model code of conduct in force in the capital ahead of the December 4 elections.

BMB Headquartered in Delhi. The government appointed Usha Ananthasubramanian as the bank's Chairperson and Managing Director. The bank proposes to have 25 branches by March 31, 2014. Once inaugurated, seven branches of the bank would become operational across the country, including in Kolkata, Chennai, Ahmedabad and Guwahati. The Delhi and Indore branches will be opened after the Assembly polls in the states are over. The Finance Minister had announced the setting up of the all-woman bank in his Budget speech this year.