SBI chairman Pratip Chaudhuri (right) hands over the ambulance key to the hospital officials in Patna on Wednesday. Picture by Nagendra Kumar Singh

Patna, May 18: Pratip Chaudhuri, the chairman of the State Bank of India (SBI) Group, donated an ambulance to Maulana Sajjad Memorial Hospital in the city today, as part of its corporate social responsibilities.

Chaudhuri also donated a laser machine to the hospital, run by the Imarat Shariah Educational and Welfare Trust at Phulwarisharif, which will help the hospital serve the people better. Handing over the ambulance’s key to Anisur Rehman, the secretary of the trust, Chaudhuri said: “The SBI is committed to social responsibility schemes. We are going to expand our schemes, which aims at providing loans to people for construction of houses under the Indira Awaas Yojana.”

Chaudhuri, who was in Patna today to attend the state-level banker’s meet, promised to provide all assistance towards Bihar’s development. He stated that SBI is going to increase its credit loan facility in the agriculture sector so that a large number of farmers can avail of the agricultural loans. Apart from providing loans to farmers, the SBI has also committed to do the needful to revive the sugarcane industries.

Chaudhuri’s statement assumes importance as sugarcane industries, which once boasted of being the highest revenue generator for the state exchequer, is passing through a bad phase with most of the sugar mills in north Bihar virtually closed down.

The chairman said: “We have assured chief minister Nitish Kumar that the SBI Group will do the needful to expand its base in Bihar, providing financial packages to sick industries for their revival, as well as loan facility to farmers.”

The SBI, as part of its business expansion plan, also plans to provide loans to potential investors who wanted to invest in various sectors of the state.

Moreover, SBI has also provided a financial assistance of Rs 3,800 crore to the Bihar State Electricity Board for its revival. The financial assistance will be a part of term loans. Similarly, the SBI has also promised to provide Rs 400 crore for the construction of roads and bridges in the state.

Chaudhuri also said SBI’s cash deposit ratio in Bihar is up to 33 per cent and if central units, such as Indian Oil Corporation unit at Baruni and NTPC unit at Kahalgoan, are considered, the ratio goes up to 47 per cent.