Lakshmi Vilas Bank launches M-Power Banki'Maximization of Profit Through Rural Empowerment and Technology Upgradation' is the motto of Baroda Rajasng

aroda Rajasthan Gramin Bank (BRGB) was established on 3 February 2006 by amalgamation of 5 erstwhile RRBs viz, larudhar Kshetriya Gramin Bank, Aravali Kshetriya Gramin Bank, Bundi Chittorgarh Kshetriya Gramin Bank, Bhilwara Ajmer Kshetriya Gramin Bank and Dungarpur Banswara Kshetriya Gramin Bank, all sponsored by Bank of Baroda. This RRB is catering to the financial needs of the rural masses through a network of 274 branches in 13 districts.
Mukesh Garg, Chairman, BRGB, said that the objectives of the amalgamation were to take advantage of economies of scale, improve operational viability by reducing transaction cost and sustain competition with big players in the market, besides evolving brand image. Amalgamation has provided the bank an opportunity to extend its area of operation to a large extent with accessibility to increased number of clientele with wide range of products in the form of 11 deposit schemes and 26 loan schemes to cater to the different needs of the people.
On the issue of volume of business and profits, Garg said that after the amalgamation, the level of BRGB's business has increased from Rs 1605.57 cr in March 2006 to Rs 3089.55 cr in March 2009, thereby registering an average growth of 24%. Besides the clientele base which was 1,008,532 as on March 2006 has increased to 1,812,003 as on March 2009 with a growth of 80% in 3 years is reflective of best ever customer service rendered. The bank has registered consistent profit of Rs 0.48 cr, Rs 6.17 cr, Rs 16.26 cr and Rs 30.25 cr in 2005-06, 2006-07, 2007-08 and 2008-09 respectively which is reflective of sound affairs of business.
Stating the measures to spread awareness, Garg said that the bank has launched its bilingual website on 23 June 2008 which provides up to date information about various deposit and loan schemes, new initiatives taken by the bank, etc, on continuous basis.
CHANGING PATTERNS
Highlighting the major changes observed in pattern of savings, fixed deposits, and loans, Garg said that the deposit growth of 21.30%,22.17% and 29.18% in 2006-07, 2007-08 and 2008-09 respectively reflects the increasing saving habits of the people. During last two years growth in fixed deposits has been 30.22% and 26.21 %. However the thrust for mobilizing low cost deposits has also yielded good results with savings deposits growth of 29.65%, 18.01% and 34.16% in 2006-07, 2007-08 and 2008­09 respectively. The pattern of loan taking shows an increasing trend in past 3 years with loan disbursement of Rs 533 cr, Rs 657 cr and Rs 734 cr during 2006-07, 2007-08 and 2008-09 respectively. The reason for increased loan taking during 2008-09, despite the low credit demand due to worldwide recession, is that the rural credit demand has not been affected by the economic recession and 75% of the bank's branches are working in rural area.
CURRENT PROJECTS
Outlining the current project and strategies of business growth and plans for year 2009-2010, Garg said that various initiatives have been taken after the amalgamation towards development and strengthening the bank, but still lot more has to be done for further expansion and the current projects being/to be implemented during current fiscal in consonance with the business policy guidelines of the bank for 2009-10 are as follows: (i) total

Lakshmi Vilas Bank launches M-Power Banking
The Lakshmi Vilas Bank tied up with the mobile commerce company PayMate to offer mobile payment facility for the bank's customers. The facility will enable customers to make utility bill payment from their mobile phones. The customers can also use the facility to book flight tickets, railway tickets, movie tickets, restaurant bills, mobile recharge, online purchases and retail shopping over at 13,000 merchant outlets. The service is being offered to the customer free of charge.

A quick glance through the figures regarding the financial position of the RSCB from 1953-54 to 2002-03 indicates some interesting developments. The s

new schemes viz, water harvesting structure, organic farming, agri-clinic / agri-business centers, aromatic and medicinal plantation, onion storage structure, horticulture, SHGs, house building, swarojgar credit card, etc, for which DCCBs can avail refinance from NABARD and can further diversify their farm and non-farm investment portfolio. Apex Bank, on its part has been pursuing DCCBs to finance innovative activities to diversify the loan portfolio of these banks and to facilitate economic development through creation of assets in the rural areas of the state."

Ever reducing margin on agricultural lending have made diversification need of the time. Consequent to this concept, several loan schemes were launched from time to time keeping in view the requirement of general public of the state. Most of the schemes have been adopted by DCCBs, including personal loans, vehicle loans, working capital finance to the existing and new industrial units, cash credit limits, Krishak Mitra Yojana, Aawas and Vyavasayik Parisar loan scheme, Swarojgar Credit Card scheme, Gyan Sagar (education) loan scheme, financing against NSCs and securities, Avika Sahkari Credit Card scheme for sheep rearing, Vishwas Yojna for handicapped persons and loan against property.

COMPUTERIZATION

Ranvah added: "The ongoing computerization project of is taken up under 3 phases. Phase 1 includes data centre creation at RSCB HO, computerization of 13 branches of RSCB along with data center creation at 5 regional offices, accounts and finance department of RSCB, computerization of 1 branch each of following DCCBs along with data centre creation at DCCB Head Office: Ajmer, Jodhpur, Udaipur, Kota, Bikaner, Jaipur, Bharatpur, Jhalawar, Tonk and Sawai Madhopur.

Phase 2 pertains to computerization of 1 branch each of follOWing DCCBs along with data centre creation at DCCB HO:
Alwar,]hunjhunu, Sikar, Dausa, Barmer,]aisalmer,]alore, Sirohi, Pali, Bundi, Bhilwara, Chittorgarh, Dungarpur, Banswara, Churu, Nagaur, Sriganganagar, Hanumangarh, Baran. Phase 3 involves computerization of RSCB's HO, RO and DCCB's HO.

13 branches of RSCB and one branch each of eight DCCBs are working in TBA mode. RSCB data center work is complete and integration of data center with the branches computerized in TBA mode is in process. Master data creation and site preparation in one branch each of the remaining DCCBs is in advance stage of progress.

Ranvah added: "In 2007-08, RSCB registered an annual growth of 12.11% in own fund, 9.88% in loan outstanding and 23.43% in average working fund. The level of recovery against demand stood at 96.12%. Per employee productivity was to the tune of Rs 13.63 crores and per branch business was Rs 267.36 crores."

RSCB has established India's first currency chest in the cooperative sector in its Nehru Bazar branch in ]aipur. RSCB is paying dividend regularly to its shareholders and maximum dividend permissible as per Cooperative Societies Act, ie, 10% was paid for the years 2000-2001 to 2002-2003, 8.35% and 8.85% for the years 2003-2004 to 2005-2006 and 8.37% and 6.07% for the years 2006-2007 and 2007-08 respectively."

GROWTH

A quick glance through the figures regarding the financial position of the RSCB from 1953-54 to 2002-03 indicates some interesting developments. The share capital has gone up by 700 times. The reserves have gone up by about 19,000 times. The growth of deposit has also been equally phenomenal from a small Rs 36,000 to Rs 992 crores. Similarly, outstanding loans have gone up from mere Rs 25,000 to Rs 1,111 cr. The working capital, which was less than Rs 6 lacs, has also gone up to over Rs 1,970 cr. The profit from Rs ] ,000 has gone up to over Rs 15 cr. The financial picture also reflects some specific years, which constitute turning points. For instance, the loans outstanding in 1968-69 were almost double what they were during the previous year. In 1974-75, there was a two­fold growth compared to 1972-73. During 1980-81, the loans outstanding crossed Rs 100 cr.

To bring about greater banking professionalism, an officer from RBI was taken on deputation as managing director. Open market recruitment for different levels was made for infusing new blood into the bank, at the same time, insulating it from being treated as an extension of the cooperative department.

About the same time, reorganization of the PACS was undertaken under the aegis of the cooperative department. The doors of membership of PACS were thrown open to all those eligible. RSCB also began to make term landings other than short term. Cooperative housing activities also received due encouragement. All these were expected to create avenues for the RSCB to develop its banking activities horizontally also.

The results were reflected in a ground swell of enthusiasm paving the way for future business expansion and diversification of loan portfolio, pioneering schemes for small-scale / cottage sectors, warehousing, etc, as also in social banking and making foray into hitherto unexplored areas like consorti um - financing.

NPA MANAGEMENT

According to RBI data, NPAs of StCBs varied widely across the states at end-March 2007. In Rajasthan, PAs were less than 3%. At the all India level, the recoveries made by StCBs as a proportion of demand declined marginally to 86% in 2006­07 from 87% in 2005-06. Among the various states and union territories, the recovery performance improved in 12 states and two UTs. For StCB in Rajasthan the recovery performance remained similar to what it was previous year. StCBs in nine states including Rajasthan achieved more than 90% recovery during 2006-07
The NPA ratio in respect of DCCBs varied significantly across the states from 4.8% to 76.4% at end-March 2007. The NPA ratio was less than 10% in only four states - Rajasthan Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and Punjab. The NPA ratio increased in Rajasthan and Rajasthan achieved more than 80% recovery rate during 2006-07.

Rajastan State Cooperative Bank Ltd is the apex bank guiding the growth of cooperative movement in the state. Mehul Dani reports on the various progra

s many as 29 DCCBs cover 33 districts of Rajasthan state with 400 branches. At the grass-root level, 5255 PACS cover 100% of the geographical area of the state, ie, 42955 villages.
With a view to cater to the seasonal financial requirement for agriculture and other allied activities at the level, The Rajasthan State Cooperative Bank Ltd (RSCB) was established on 14 October 1953. It is an apex institution of the DCCBs functioning in the state.
The state has 39 urban cooperative banks, 90% of which are in Grade I and II category. The Rajasthan Urban Cooperative Banks Federation has organized various training programs and workshops. It was able to persuade the government to conduct elections in urban cooperative banks in the state on time, this year. There are administrators in 3 UCBs namely Kota UCB, Rajasthan UCB and Savai Madhopur UCB, while the rest of the banks have an elected managing body. There are 6 women UCBs and 3 railway cooperative banks in the state. There are more than 340,000 plus members shared among the member UCBs, led by Madhav agrik Sahkari Bank with over 46,000 members.
The federation facilitated the tie-up arrangement of urban cooperative banks with IFFCO TOKIO Insurance Company for insurance business. It also played an important role in putting in place arrangements for sale of stamps by urban cooperative banks in the state.
PACS
PACS are the backbone of short-term cooperative credit structure. Out of 5255 PACS in the state, 5197 PACS advanced loan to their members during 2006-07 and 4971 PACS had outstanding loans exceeding Rs 10 lacs as on 31 March 2008. The working capital of PACS as on 31 March 2008 stood at Rs 4181.33 crores and 1985 PACS working as mini banks were collecting deposits from their members. Total deposits of these mini banks stood at Rs 308.20 crores as on 31 March 2008 which rose to Rs 505.35 crores in 12 months. In 2009, it is expected that more than 4150 PACS would have booked profit.
Avinas;\ Ranvah, MD, RSCB, said: "Our corporate mission is to become a strong and competitive cooperative banking
network which offers innovative financial products along with varied range of services to serve rural masses with rejuvenated short term cooperative credit structure to serve the people of Rajasthan. Under the micro-credit system, the DCCBs/PACS have been playing the role of facilitators to organize SHGs of homogeneous class. So far, approximately 48,200 SHGs have been linked with DCCBs/PACS and an amount of Rs 143.29 cr has been advanced to SHGs upto 31 March 2009."
PERSONAL ACCIDENTAL INSURANCE SCHEME
Personal Accidental Insurance Scheme has been introduced in the state through DCCBs with an objective to provide financial security to its customers and staff members at a nominal premium against accidental losses. During the period October 2006 to September 2007,9.47 lac KCC holders and staff members were insured and an amount of Rs 71.87 lacs was remitted to the insurance company and during the same period next year, the number insured declined 3.91 lacs and an amount of Rs 28.03 lacs was remitted to the insurance company.
CROP INSURANCE SCHEME
The state government has launched crop insurance scheme from kharif crop, 2003 under which prescribed crops in the notified area are being insured. An insurance premium of Rs 27.02 crore for kharif crop, 2006 and Rs 23.59 crore for rabi crop during the year 2007-2008 has been remitted to the insurance company. Due to failure of crop, claims of Rs 53.29 crore for the kharif, 2007 crop and Rs 64.89 crore for the rabi, 2007 -08 crop were paid to the affected farmers.
KISAN CREDIT CARD
In Rajasthan, crop loans were disbursed in the cash credit form based on 'Sri Ganganagar or Punjab Pattern' even prior to the introduction of KCC scheme. However, with the introduction of KCC scheme, loan disbursement procedure has been renamed accordingly. At present all crop loans are being disbursed under KCC. The state government has also taken keen interest to see that more and more KCC are issued to the eligible farmers of the state. Short term cooperative credit structure of the state has issued 28.27 lacs KCCs upto 31st March, 2008.
DIVERSIFICATION OF LOAN PORTFOLIO
Ranvah says: "In last few years, concerted efforts have been made to diversify loan portfolio so as to provide an opportunity to DCCBs to cross subsidize their losses in traditional crop loan business. In this endeavor, NABARD has introduced lots of

Since the rural BPO will mainly cater to the incremental business from the urban areas, it may not have much of an impact on the continuing sustainabi

dashboard that monitors and congratulates better performers and motivates the slower ones," he says.
As much as 46% of the employees hold BA degrees, 35% BCom, 15% BSc and ]% each MA, MCom, MSc and MBA. "However, since most of them belong to the lowest strata of society, they had very harrowing experiences in taking up education and even in living a normal life. They had no background of English and would never have got jobs elsewhere," adds Durga Prasad.
WHY TIRUPATI?
Why was Tirupati chosen as a location? Explains Rajan: "The concept of a rural BPO necessarily requires the location to be a small town with close proximity to the rural areas. The town should be small enough to attract the rural youth, but have sufficient infrastructure to provide broadband connectivity and continuous power supply. One of the main reasons for locating it at Tirupati was the excellent support that we received from EGMM in identifying and preparing educated unemployed rural youths for our selection process. They also verify the background and integrity of the candidates which accelerates our recruitment process."
Rajan is very happy to replicate this model in any other states in India. "However, dedicated support from the concerned state governments and an assurance of steady flow of processing business is critical for the viability of such ventures," he adds.
Rajan is also very emphatic when he says that migrating work from urban BPOs to rural sites is not an issue since there are enough alternative employment opportunities for the trained BPO staffer in urban areas, which is demonstrated in the high staff turnover levels in such BPOs. Since the rural BPO will mainly cater to the incremental business from the urban areas, it may not have much of an impact on the continuing sustainability of the Metro based BPOs.
CHALLENGES IN SETTING UP A RURAL BPO
ADFC faced several chaJlenges in locating the BPO in a
remote town like Tirupati and making it functional. First of aJl, it was difficult to persuade software vendors and service staff to provide ongOing support in remote locations. Transportation and instaJiation of the hardware was also a tedious exercise. Secondly, connectivity was a major issue. While BSNL connectivity was readily available, it was important to have a second service proVider for business continuity. Lastly, it was essential that a steady and continuous supply of electric power was available to ensure that the work in the BPO is not interrupted by unscheduled power cuts.
To mitigate the above constraints, the bank's IT team
persuaded its
software and
hardware vendors
to go to Tirupati to set up the required infrastructure for the BPO. They also persuaded Bharati Airtel to start offering its services to help the BPO build its redundancy. While power supply had
been erratic, the BPO managed with gensets, though it is more expensive.
Explaining how sustainable and economically viable this business model has been, Rajan says the work that is getting migrated to the rural areas wiJl be delivered at a cheaper cost over a period of time. Besides, the quality of work will be at least equal to, if not better than the output from urban areas. Besides, the reduced attrition level is a major attraction to shift BPOs to semi urban towns.
Rajan feels that the rural BPO model is simple enough for other banks to set up similar ventures in rural and semi urban towns. "This is an idea which I wiJl be happy to share with others who have a similar vision."
CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBLITY
He says a rural BPO is not only a sustainable business model, but it is one of the best alternatives to develop the rural economy. "It proVides steady alternative income growth for the rural population, which is otherwise largely dependent on the vagaries of nature."
He is very optimistic that this initiative, to a great extent, could trigger a revolution to restrict the migration of rural people into urban areas and pre-empt a demographic disaster. Besides proViding jobs to the educated unemployed in the rural areas, such ventures can also prevent large scale migration of rural populace to the urban areas. [n addition, this will facilitate setting up of infrastructure in rural and semi-urban areas like roads, power supply, broadband connectivity, etc.
"I am happy to share with you that I have enquiries from at least two state governments on starting similar projects and ready to replicate this venture. The very fact that this initiative has stimulated similar thought process in high places itself is a very rewarding feeling."

The candidates are generally those who have completed theirgraduation but not been able to land a job due to their inability to compete with their cit

percentage of women."
It is now more than six months since the BPO has started functioning in full steam and it has around 650 employees working in two shifts handling tasks like data capturing, retail loan processing, credit card application processing, etc. The current BPO strength is fUlly engaged in meeting the needs of HDFC Bank but Rajan is confident the operations can be easily scaled up to meet requirements if needed. "We can easily scale up the operations to accommodate more than 1,800 people over three shifts if there are assured business flows," says Rajan, adding "Mutual funds, i nsu rance com pan ies, telecom and other service providers have identical activities, which can be easily migrated to this BPO."
Rajan spearheaded the initiative after a chance encounter with a small BPO at Puttaparthi in rural Andhra Pradesh, run by a band of dedicated entrepreneurs employing a few rural youths from nearby villages. However, he found that this experimental venture was languishing for want of adequate business flows and he arranged to divert some of the processes from the bank to the BPO. "The dedication and commitment of these rural youths inspired a thought in me as to how some of the routine processes of the bank in the metro cities can be diverted to support rural employment in a much larger scale, says Rajan. "It was further strengthened when I met with a dynamic lady called Meera Shenoy at Hyderabad who was working with a team of dedicated Gas in the interiors of Andhra Pradesh with an identical vision. She heads the Employment Generation and Marketing Mission (EGMM) at the department of rural development of the Andhra Pradesh government, mainly identifying and training deserving poor youth from rural areas to take up appropriate employment. We decided to set up the rural BPO at Tirupati where daughters and sons of farmers, laborers, carpenters, weavers, etc, from nearby Villages could be employed. The candidates are generally those who have completed their graduation but
not been able to land a job due to their inability to compete with their city brethren who get better exposures."
Rajan says
convincing and
getting the approval of the bank's CEO and the members of the board on
experimenting with this initiative was not at all difficult, since they immediately appreciated the tremendous value addition that this initiative can have in uplifting rural economy.
The nature of the work of the employees of the BPO largely involves ca ptu ri ng customer data from scanned images of application forms and sending the data back to the central servers in Mumbai. "Since scanned images could be sent over broadband lines and brought back to the central server
as encrypted data files, we could mange the entire activity without any time loss of turnaround time for the customers and without compromising data security," adds Rajan.
INITIAL EXPERIENCES
Durga Prasad, a senior banker, who heads the operations of the BPO at Tirupati, adds: "The boys and girls who joined this BPO are seeing an office environment for the first time in their life. In fact, during the initial days, I was puzzled to see many of them wearing warm woolen clothes despite the humid weather at Tirupati, before I realized that most of them were not accustomed to spending eight hours in an air-conditioned enclosure!" He adds the BPO job has brought in dignity and respect for them and many of them have been able to get rid of their family debts, start educating their siblings and prOVide an enhanced lifestyle to their families. The status of being a BPO employee has also helped some of the girls to get married into respectable families.
As much as 54% of the staff employed in the rural BPO is girls.
Many of them are destitutes, orphans and widows and the BPO has given them an impetus to lead a life of dignity. They work in two shifts, but Durga Prasad manages the shift allocations in such a way that the girls are able to leave office before dusk.
Meera Shenoy, who heads EGMM, says the organization was associated with HDFC Bank even before setting up the BPO and the experience was such that it had no hesitation whatsoever to the idea of a rural BPO. "We readily undertook the initial training aspects, tailormaking it to the needs of the BPO," she adds.
She says three factors influenced her thinking while being associated with HDFC Bank: (i) the impeccable credentials of the bank, (ii) the project is to help rural youth and (iii) it creates job opportunities in the local area instead of the youths having to migrate to cities.
Shenoy says: "This is one of the best examples of public­private partnership and it is a worthwhile model since it aims to create job opportunities for the rural and tribal youths in their area of residence. We have received enquiries from other state governments on this pattern."
She adds: "On our part, we have been trying to impart tailormade training to the youths, as per the requirement of the employers. As an organization EGMM is one of the largest job creators for rural youth globally, having secured jobs to as many as 225,000 youths so far."
TRAINING REQUIREMENTS
Besides the initial grooming support from EGMM, the BPO gives extensive training to the youngsters in handling computers, using software applications and in understanding basic banking products before they are put on the actual job. Durga Prasad says it takes about six months for them to become reasonably skilled and productive. "Each of the employee works with realistic targets in terms of productivity and quality of output. There is a

Mascot of a Generation from the lowest rungs of the economic strata. These youngsters (many of them walking down or cycling to the office covering any

Dhanamma is an amazing example of women getting empowered. She has been a girl with fierce determination and will power to make it big. In spite of stiff resistance from her mother, this second daughter of a shepherd father and farm laborer mother from one of the villages bordering Tirupati managed to graduate. Dhanamma is now an agent at the rural BPO.

When two management students from Vignana ]yothi Institute of Management, Hyderabad, Aparna Krishnan and Sirisha, met her as part of a case study on the rural BPO project, Dhanamma recollected her days when she walked miles together to graze goats, helpless at not being able to go to college. Her mother thought it was worthless attending college instead of helping her with her field work and household chores. She went to college to only write her examinations. She took a BA in political science and when she listened to a presentation by EGMM at a meeting of a SHG, she was convinced that her dreams can be fulfilled by taking up the training at EGMM. She persuaded her father and joined the 45--day training. She was later absorbed by ADFC at the BPO.

"The 45 days at EGMM changed me completely from a shepherdess to a woman ready to be employed in a swank, air conditioned corporate office," she tells the management students proudly displaying her ID card. She feels that the training has been the best part of her life as she has acqUired English speaking skills and can manage the work like any other urban girl.

Dhanamma stays in a hostel at Tirupati as her home is in Patagunta, which is 40 kms away from Tirupati. She sends Rs 2,700 every month to her parents. She complains that many people in her village waste their time doing nothing productive and getting into bad habits like gambling.

Aparna and Sirisha write in their case study: "Dhanamma is a mascot of whole generation of women fighting their way to getting educated and going beyond their borders. She is the first girl to get graduated from her village and the first girl to go out of her village to earn a living. This determination is now spreading in the whole village. On her way to her home lots of kids come up to her to greet her. She says that all of them wish to work like her in the City."
recruited from villages around the temple town, from the lowest rungs of the economic strata. These youngsters (many of them walking down or cycling to the office covering anywhere between 5 and 15 kms daily), are quite a contrast to the motor cycle riding call center executives of the cities.
"We started the Rural BPO more as a corporate social responsibility with the intention of proViding employment opportunities to the rural youth rather than as
a cost-cutting initiative," says A. Rajan, group head - Operations of HDFC Bank and a director on the board of ADFC. "The cost aspect was considered to the extent that the bank should not be spending more than what it was incurring for similar activities in the metros. This is important, since it is pointless to start an initiative unless it is economically viable and self-sustaining in the long run. Since the BPO is intended to proVide job opportunities closer to the rural employees' residences, the bank had to necessarily locate it in a remote town away from the metros, thus incurring a higher cost on leasing appropriate bandwidth. However, this cost is expected to be offset by the fact that infrastructure costs like rentals and wage bills are lower at remote towns, compared with those in a metro," he adds.
There is also another significant advantage.
In rural areas, there is very little attrition as the youngsters, while working in the BPO, can continue to support their family business as well. So, there is a double benefit for them and they are less likely be tempted by the better salary prospects in the metros.
Rajan agrees: "There is negligible attrition.
This saves the BPO significant re-training expenses, which is otherwise incurred by the metro based BPOs facing a sizeable turnover. The few resignations that were seen in the Tirupati BPO were due to the fact that some of the female staff who got married had to re-locate. There were also a few cases where the ladies had to resign for compelling family responsibilities. This was anticipated since the BPO predominantly employs a larger

MARATHON FUTUREX ..

The biggest challenge in Mumbai, the country's financial capital today is the availability of well-defined and well maintained and safe business parks. Construction of state-of-the-art secure structures, built with keeping in mind the seamless functioning of the financial institutions are a must for Mumbai to continue its status as the financial hub of the nation. With growing number of Banking, Financial Services and Insurance (BFSI) companies in the country's financial capital, the need for buildings with modern infrastructure, catering specifically to these sectors is a must.
The Marathon Group, through its upcoming project Marathon Futurex at Lower Parel, the emerging financial hub ofMumbai, has made an endeavor to fulfill requirements of several such BFSI aspirants to set up their new office in Mumbai.
It was the Marathon Group, which with its several unique commercial and residential projects like Marathon NextGen Innova, Marathon Omega, Marathon NextGen Era etc have already converted Lower Parel from decaying chawls and dead mills to the one of the financial hub of the country's financial
capital with its prestigious projects,
catering to the need of this growing city.
Addressing the need for spacious business parks with a positive ambience, Marathon Futurex, at Lower Parel is one such project in the area being developed by the Marathon Group as one of the most favored tomorrow's busi ness destination for the BFSI companies.
Marathon Futurex is "A" class IT Park overlooking Arabian sea and Mahalaxmi racecourse and offers floor plates from 30,000 sq. ft. to 70,000 sq. ft. and is designed to accommodate more than 900 cars. Impressive and grand centrally air conditioned entrance lobby, lush green sky gardens, advanced building management system, Electric sub-station, DG back up for common areas, broadband connectivity, advanced security with CCTV make this future Green building an ideal business destination.
Centrally located at the junction of Lower Parel and Curry road, Marathon Futurex is easily accessible by all modes of transport­connected to major bus routes, flyovers and Bandra-Worli sea link. Futu rex is the only business destination at a one minute walking distance from Lower Parel and Currey Road railway stations. Proposed skywalk between these two railway station will further ease the connectivity. Air-conditioned monorail services between Jacob circle in South Bombay and Chemburon harbour line will also add up to the reach as the proposed on-route sration is close ro the site along N .M.Joshi Marg. Junction free VT-Sion expressway will facilitate the faster connectivity between central and harbour suburbs
with the central business destination. Upcoming Mumbai Trans Harbour sea linkwill not only bring New Mumbai and adjoinlTlg suburbs closer to Lower Parel but also connect Pune. Concentration of high gear service sector organizations like Peninsula Corpora < Park, Phoenix Mills, Kamala Mills, five star hotels like ITC ar J Fo \' Season's and entertainment outlets at High Street Phoenix In th vicinity itself had become the location advantage ot thL M r rho Futurex. Upcoming hi-end Shangri-La hotel at Phocn ix will FL , , hospitality to new level.
Another reason for Lowet Parel being the preferred destinauor s by the business leaders as compared to the upmarket Bandra Kurla Complex (BKC) is, that the latter lacks social infrastructure and ItS neither close to Bandra nor to Kurla railway stations.
The project, being developed in the Mafatlal Mill land compound will host more than 15 landscaped gardens by international architect from Singapore and will feature Drop offlevel adorned with water feature signage, water bodies, water spout sculpture, timber deck,
fountain feature, bamboo garden, garden plaza, cascad ing garden ete.
Marathon is the only developer offering this kind of project in the middle of the Lower Parel business district, offering commercial space through leave and license and outright sales to the customers, that too as per their requirements.
As the demand for commercial space is growing in Mumbai, the commercial capital of the country has seen growing in all the directions. In the current scenarIO, centrally located places such as Lower Parel turned out an extended central business district.
Group's one such landmark project called NextGen lnnova offering independent business spaces starting from 2000 sq. ft. with scalability option upto one lac sq. ft. is located opposite Peninsula Corporate Park in Lower Parel Destination for brands like Anchor,
Sundaram BNP Paribas, HDFC, Dawnay Day AV, STCl Securities, Evergreen Logistics, Armstrong WI! Pvt. Ltd. to name a few, NextGen I nnova is dotted with most conducive features like grand entrance lobby, capsule elevators, hi-tech security, tree lined walkways, independent car park building for more than 500 cars, tennis court and modern clubhouse comprising of gymnasium, swimming pool, squash court, aerobic studio etc on 5" level. This project was awarded as the "Best Commercial Project of the Year" -2006 by Accommodation Times.
The Group is actively involved in High-rise residences, Corporate & IT parks, Retail, Townships and SEZs.