This is one of the satisfying memories of my banking career. With a little humane approach, one can make a difference in the lives of others.

This happened during my posting as the branch manager at one rural branch located in a far-off tribal area. Cut off from urban life and with minimum progress attained, the village only had the state transport bus service available, rare electricity and no internet service.

I was trying to establish Farmer’s Club in one of the villages under my jurisdiction. I had visited the village and the farmers many times to make this happen.

During one such visit, I saw one farmer sitting away from the meeting and sulking. On enquiry, I was told that his son got 84% in SSC but was unable to get admission to B.Ed. as the family and the entire village did not have enough money for admission. I immediately visited the boy in his hut and saw a bright-eyed boy, depressed as there was no solution.

I asked him to avail an education loan from my bank. But they did not have the initial amount of Rs. 12,000/- needed for provisional admission, which was a precondition for the loan.

I made some quick decisions and called him the next day to branch along with the documents. I completed the formalities for a loan and gave him Rs. 12000/- from my personal account for admission. This amount will get refunded after the loan is sanctioned as it was treated as a loan from friends as per the bank's procedure. The boy got admission and the loan. My money was also refunded.

During my tenure, he completed his course, joined as Ashram Shala as a teacher and started earning more than Rs. 12000 per month. This changed his and his family's lives.

I continued with this 12000/- intermittent loan till I was there. I lost nothing but could see many families settling down in life. What else do you need except for smiling faces around?