Bankers’ Institute plans cyber security, IBC, digital courses

Bankers’ Institute plans cyber security, IBC, digital courses

Mangalore Today News Network

Mangaluru, May 12, 2018: Bankers’ Institute of Rural Development (BIRD), a training institution established by National Bank For Agriculture And Rural Development (NABARD) in Mangaluru, is planning to focus on new areas.

The institute will start courses in Climate Change, Data Analytics, Forensic Accounting and Auditing, Cyber Security, Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC), Digital Banking, Finance and Human Resources.

Informing this to reporters, BIRD Joint Director K Lakshminarayanan said the institute has planned to conduct 120 training programmes covering around 3,500 stakeholders in its core focus areas, such as Micro Finance and Livelihoods, Financial Inclusion and Financial Literacy, Project Finance, Augmenting Investment Credit for capital formation in agriculture and other areas related to agriculture and rural development, this year.

Though BIRD, Mangaluru, is catering to all the stakeholders across India, the focus is on states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Gujarat, Goa, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu and Telangana, Lakshminarayanan said and added that since inception, more than 60,000  officials have been trained at BIRD.

The BIRD also has plans to digitise all the SHGs in the country, he added.

Stating that the BIRD conducts customised training programmes if there is a demand, Lakshminarayanan cited a few examples in which the institute has trained bankers, members of co-operative societies and institutions.

Be it Mattu Gulla FPO (farmer producer organisation) project assisted by BIRD or marketing of coir in Tumakuru or helping rear goats in Nasik, the BIRD has successfully implemented many projects, he said.

Lakshminarayanan added that the institute has also organised seven training programmes in digital banking for the officials of the cooperative banks and regional rural banks to build their capacities to provide easy, quick and cheap access to financial products and services for their rural clientele.

Focus on farming  :  He said the youths are not considering agriculture as a potential enterprise and are moving to urban and semiurban areas seeking employment though agriculture sector has the potential to provide numerous employment opportunities in food production, marketing, processing, retail, catering  and input sales among others.

Keeping this in view, the institute has organised a conference during the year and the suggestions emerged during the conference were sent to the head office for taking up at national level, Lakshminarayanan said.

BIRD (Mangaluru), one of the only three training institutes of NABARD in India, also plans to ‘Go Complete Solar’ for meeting its energy requirement during the year on its 6.5 acre campus.

“Once the institute establishes the 90 kw solar power plant in the campus, hopefully within four to five months, 75% of the energy demand of the campus will be met by the same,” he said. The institute pays around Rs 1.5 lakh per month towards electricity supply, Lakshminarayanan added.

Bankers’ Institute of Rural Development DGM Sripathy Kalkura S and B B Wadavi were present.