Srinagar: A tiny hamlet nestled in the north-east of India today became the 750th village under HDFC Bank’s Holistic Rural Development Programme (HRDP). Through this programme the 550 inhabitants of Umpathaw now have access to potable waterand their children, a smart school with clean toilets.

The Bank has a Board mandate to cover 1,000 such villages by 2019. This initiative has so far impacted the lives of over 10 lakh people in 16 states across the country.

HRDP is a flagship CSR initiative of Parivartan, HDFC Bank’s umbrella brand for all its social development programmes. It seeks to better village life by focussing on improvements in 5 key areas of: Education, Skills Training and Livelihood Enhancement, Natural Resources Management, Water and Sanitation, Financial Literacy and Inclusion.

Under this unique programme, a thorough assessment of the village is carried out to understand its developmental needs. To address these needs in a sustainable and effective manner, the Bank creates long-term solutions in partnership with an NGO and the local community. The beneficiaries of HRDP include small farmers, youth, landless labourers, children and women.

“It gives me a great sense of fulfilment to be here, “said Paresh Sukthankar, Deputy Managing Director, HDFC Bank at an event organised in the village of Umpathaw. “At HDFC Bank, we believe that for India to achieve inclusive growth, our villages must grow in tandem with cities. Through HRDP, we are doing just that by creating sustainable communities in remote pockets of the country.”

“Through HRDP we are creating an ecosystem to improve the overall economic and social conditions in rural India. Our NGO partners play an instrumental role in planning and executing projects. We work also closely with local communities, who participate in the projects through ‘Shramdaan’, to make the initiative sustainable,”said Nusrat Pathan, Head – Corporate Social Responsibility, HDFC Bank.

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