Srinagar, Aug 15(KNS): Amid the nationwide Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav festivities, J&K Bank celebrated 76 years of the country’s independence with national fervor. MD & CEO Baldev Prakash hoisted the national tricolour on 77th Independence Day here at the Bank's Corporate Headquarters in presence of General Managers, Deputy General Managers, Departmental Heads and other senior officers of the Bank. Colonel Ravi Kumar, Ex-serviceman & District Sainik Welfare Officer (Srinagar) Rashid War were the guests on the occasion.

In line with the idea of developing Amrit vatika, MD & CEO Baldev Prakash along with senior management functionaries planted a sapling in the lawns of CHQ and dedicated the plant as part of Bank’s salutations to the forces protecting the country.

As part of paying tribute to heroes of the nation under 'Veeron Ka Vandhan’ theme, he also handed over Laptops, Tablets and Biometric Devices to the District Sainik Welfare Officer (Srinagar) in the presence of Colonel Ravi Kumar. The gadgets were part of amenities provided by the Bank under its CSR Program to various Sainik Bhawans across J&K that takes care of the welfare of thousands of families of martyrs and ex-service men in J&K.   

After the flag-hoisting ceremony that concluded with the national anthem, MD & CEO Baldev Prakash spoke about the importance of the Day.

He said, “Today is of great significance as “Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav” - the grand celebrations of the spirit of freedom – reverberates across the country while nearing its culmination. The theme - "Meri Maati Mera Desh" - chosen by the Union Government for this day adds more colour to the spirit of independence through a unified celebration of India's soil and valour as the nation commemorates its journey of freedom and progress.”

“Therefore, as we celebrate this Independence Day with colleagues, friends, family and loved ones, let’s take a minute to remember and reflect on how truly fortunate we are to be able to celebrate this day. So it is the time to express our solidarity with and gratitude to all our brave-hearts by paying homage to them for giving the ultimate sacrifice for the country”, he added.

Dwelling upon the similarity of roles of armed forces and bankers, he said, “On this occasion, I would like to remind all of you that as the country’s forces guard the nation’s frontiers, we bankers are the custodians of peoples’ trust. We safeguard public money and ensure public money grows. We are the partners in nation building. Through our interventions we create immense value for our shareholders. And let me reiterate today that we will continue to do so with renewed focus and foresight.”

He also touched upon the Bank’s legacy of 85 years admiring the vision of Shri Maharaja Hari Singh, he said, “Building upon the great legacy of financial empowerment that was heralded 85 years ago by the visionary Shri Maharaja Hari Singh, today we are a proud family of over 12000 members, serving over 20 million customers across the country through more than 2500 business touch-points. Our recent performances like highest-ever annual profit of Rs 1197 Cr for FY 2022-23 and quarterly net of Rs 326 Cr for the first quarter of FY 2023-24 are indicative of our success-in-progress.”

Reiterating Bank’s role in J&K, MD & CEO said that Bank we will continue to work towards saturation of self-employment in the UT by implementing its ‘Swarozgar Utsav’ campaign aggressively, wherein self-employment opportunities will be provided to youth through a mix of our banking products and sponsored schemes in partnership with the Union and UT Governments while pursuing glory and prosperity as an incredible institution of the country.
He concluded the address saying, “May our country progress and prosper every day. May our institution progress and prosper every day.” 

MD & CEO also felicitated the persons-of-distinction from the support staff posted at CHQ for their dedicated and exemplary services during the year. MD & CEO handed over a Letter of Appreciation along with a memento to each of recipients on the occasion.

Notably, the Bank’s Executive Director Sudhir Gupta also hoisted the national flag in the lawns of Zonal Office in Jammu in presence of GM & Divisional Head (Jammu), Zonal Head and other officials of the Bank. After hoisting the flag, Sudhir Gupta spoke about the importance of country’s Independence Day and urged upon the participants to work for the progress of country and the Bank.

Meanwhile, the flag-hoisting ceremonies were held at the all the controlling offices across the country with Divisional, Zonal and Cluster Heads raising the tri-colour at their respective workplaces.

Besides highlighting the significance of Independence Day, persons-of-distinction from all these controlling offices were also felicitated by the respective heads on the occasion.(KNS).