India’s first all-women bank “Bharatiya Mahila Bank” open in Lucknow

The first branch of India’s first all-women bank – Bharatiya Mahila Bank – will open in Lucknow.

The Lucknow branch, at a complex in front of the Civil hospital, will be opened on Tuesday and have an all-women staff of 10, officials said. An ATM will also be opened on Tuesday.

The branch is part of the seven branches across the country that will be inaugurated by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Congress president Sonia Gandhi via video conferencing from Mumbai.

The government has targeted setting up of 25 such branches across the country by March 31, 2014. The first branches are opening on the birth anniversary of late prime minister Indira Gandhi.

Union Finance Minister P Chidambaram in his budget speech earlier this year had announced the formation of the Bharatiya Mahila Bank with an initial capital of Rs 1,000 crore.