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| XLRI in Jamshedpur |
Jamshedpur, April 12: Unlike most banks, Bank of India’s Telco branch has no inhibition in providing loans to students pursuing entrepreneurship development course at XLRI even though the programme does not guarantee campus placement.
The bank has started providing education loans to aspiring entrepreneurs, who are pursuing a certificate course in entrepreneurship development at XLRI, to promote small and medium enterprises.
Two students of the current batch of 52 have already got the loan at an interest rate of 9.5 per cent. The course fee is Rs 50,000.
“All we are trying to do is promote future entrepreneurs. I have spoken to most of the students and ensured that financial constraint will never come in their way as far as the course fee is concerned. We are not looking at the short-term benefits of it, these guys can turn the business scene by setting up small and medium scale enterprises,” said Anjan Makhim, the chief manager of Bank of India, Telco.
He added that after graduating from ace B-school like XLRI, these students would make good entrepreneurs and open medium and small-scale units in rural areas and small towns, providing employment to many.
“The loan is very customer-friendly and it is so small an amount that I believe there is no risk with the repayments at all. I think that the course fee is too less for an institute like XLRI. The very name of XLRI opens a way for us to fund them in future also. Students interested in taking loans can either approach us or we too can reach out to them probably with the best bargains,” said Makhim.
Chairperson of Entrepreneurship Development Cell at XLRI, Prabal Sen said he was surprised to come across a bank that was interested in providing loans for a programme that did not guarantee placement.
“The deal has been very transparent between us. I was surprised because banks generally do not provide loan to students like this. This is a unique effort and I appreciate the bank for banking on us and providing loan to our students,” said the chairperson of Entrepreneurship Development Cell.
