Monthly Archives: June 2012

The Zoroastrian Co-Operative Bank Ltd Now in Gujarat

The Zoroastrian Co-operative Bank Limited has now achieved the status of a Multi State Scheduled Urban Co-operative Bank and has been authorized by the Statutory Authorities to acquire the Surat based “City Co-operative Bank Limited” and is set to now commence normal banking operations through its Regional Office located at Belgium Chambers, Ring Road, Delhi Gate, Surat. In addition to Zoroastrian Co operative bank’s present network of twelve branches in Mumbai and Pune, Zoroastrian Bank will now add a further six branches in Surat, conveniently located at Ring Road, Textile Market, Udhna Magdalla, Citylight, Rander and Ved-Katargam. As a result, the network of Zoroastrian Bank will now comprise of eighteen branches.

By virtue of the said acquisition, its area of operations which hitherto was confined to Greater Mumbai, Municipal Limits of Pune City, Thane District and Municipal areas of Navi Mumbai in the State of Maharashtra, shall now additionally encompass the whole of Surat District and including the Municipal Corporation areas of Surat, Bharuch, Baroda, Anand, Nadiad, Ahmedabad, Navsari and Valsad in the State of Gujarat. All the six branches at Surat shall now function as full-fledged branch offices of ZCBL, and shall extend a vast range of products and services to its clientele hailing from all the strata of society. In its ambit, the Zoroastrian Bank has a vast repertoire of Banking products driven by a high level of technological advancement. It is equipped with Core Banking Solution, under which, it can extend the facility of anywhere banking to its customers. Other technology driven products within its range like RTGS, NEFT, EFT, ECS, SMS Banking, etc. are bound to be found convenient by its constituents.

The Zoroastrian Co-operative Bank Ltd. has been classified as one of the leading banks in the co-operative sector by virtue of its transparency of dealings, courteous dispensation of service, readiness to cater to need based requirements of its constituents, professional approach, availability of varied products backed by high level of technological advancement and last but not the least, its adherence to live up to its motto of “The Bank that is big on Tradition and Trust”.

The total business of the Bank as at March 2012 was in excess of Rs. 1000 crores and its Net Worth was marginally below Rs. 100 crores.

As against the requirement of 9% of Reserve Bank of India, the Capital Adequacy of the Bank is in excess of 14%. The business productivity of the Staff reflected at Rs. 717.00 crores is amongst the highest amongst peer banks. Throughout its tenure, the Bank has maintained a high standard of Corporate Governance and excellence in management practices. Its banking services are relationship based and high on customer care by imbibing technological advancement with due stress on quality based assets portfolio. Resultantly, it has throughout been rated at the highest category by the Statutory Authorities.

The Bank has always given due emphasis on development of Human Resources by conducting training programmes and workshops on various aspects of Banking not only in-house, but also deputing its personnel to other Institutes imparting such training sessions. With its foray to the shores of Gujarat, it has now realised its vision of being ranked as “A leading Multi-State Bank in the true spirit of Zoroastrian Tradition and Trust”.

About Zoroastrian Co-operative Bank

The Zoroastrian co-operative bank Limited was founded by Mr. Hormaji Cowasjee Dinshaw and registered on 17th June 1927 as a Co-operative “Credit” Bank governed under the then existing Co-operative societies Act, Bombay Presidency VII of 1925. Thereafter, on 16th February 1994, the bank acquired a license to carry on banking business under section 56 of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949.

On 8th March 2003, the bank acquired the status of a Scheduled Urban Co-operative Bank Limited by virtue of a notification dated 23rd January, 2003 issued by Reserve Bank Of India in pursuance of clause (a) of Sub section 42 of the Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934, including the Bank’s name to be included in the Second Schedule to the said Act, and as published in the Gazette of India, New Delhi.

The main objective of the Bank is to render effective banking facilities to its shareholders and clients of all communities. What identifies the Bank as distinct from its competitors is the high level of personalized and technologically driven services catering to need – based requirements of its constituents. The bank has fully computerized all its branches under the core banking solution and also offers extended business hours based on the location of the Branches for the convenience of the customers.

The Zoroastrian Co Operative Bank
20 Belgium Chambers Opp Linear Bus Stop, Delhi Gate Ring Road SURAT Gujarat
0261: 2402051 / 2402251
www.zoroastrianbank.com

For press backgrounder on The Zoroastrian Co-Operative Bank Ltd click here

Gujarat gave Bollywood first woman composer

You may not have heard of Khorshed Minocher-Homji better known as Saraswati Devi. But this Parsi woman, originally from south Gujarat, was the first woman music composer in Indian cinema. She was also among the first music directors to introduce playback singing and the first one to use title music. Very few women composers made a mark in Bollywood after her.

Trained in classical music, she was first spotted by Himanshu Roy, founder of Bombay Talkies. Khorshed started composing for Roy’s banner while her sister Manek took to acting. But, the film company being a public venture, had four board members from the Parsi community who had reservations about Khorshed’s choice of profession.

Click Here for the full story

Courtesy : Jehangir Bisney

SOHRAB P. GODREJ BIRTH CENTENARY 3RD JUNE 1912-2012

“I’m an industrialist in spite of myself”
Sohrab P. Godrej
An atypical industrialist whose career transcended the usual lens one looks through to determine success, Sohrab Godrej ran a tight ship as Chairman of Godrej. But his many interests outside the boardroom only added to his renown.As a leader of men, he was a hard taskmaster. He believed that beauty lay in the details and paid close attention to them. He had a particular disdain toward the Laissez-Faire school of thought so prevalent in India. Whether at work or in private he was a man who couldn’t let things be.

Sohrabji loved to travel and had a few stamps on his passport to show, 160 countries to be precise, including the continent of Antarctica. His exposure to new ideas, meetings with eminent men and women of his time lead him to believe that India needed to change and immediately. A country that knew what needed to be done, but just couldn’t get around to doing it.

Being the man that he was, just identifying the need for change was not enough, getting his   hands dirty and actually doing something was what drove him. He was a firm believer in noblesse oblige and so used his station, relentless drive and the fact that he had friends in  high places to set things right and champion many a cause. With him, ideals and causes were met with concrete action. In 1999, he received a Padma Bhushan from the President of India. His philanthropy covered everything from helping the needy on the street, building housing for the underprivileged, saving mangroves to voicing his concerns on the lack of family planning.That’s what sets Sohrab P. Godrej apart, most people have broad categories into which they fit in but he wasn’t most people.

Industrialist. Environmentalist. Philanthropist. Social Activist.

All of these adjectives would only begin to scratch the surface in terms of being a fitting description.

That’s the kind of man he was and how we’d like to remember him.

Courtesy : Jehangir Bisney