Chandra Shekhar Ghosh

Chandra Shekhar Ghosh, (born in August 8, 1960 at Bishalgarh in Tripura, India) is the Founder, MD & CEO of Bandhan Bank.[2] He has been one of the foremost proponents of financial inclusion in India. He has more than 30 years of experience in the microfinance and development terrain.

Chandra Shekhar Ghosh
alt=Chandra Sekha Ghosh_MD and CEO Bandhan Bank
Ghosh in 2021
Born (1960-08-08) 8 August 1960
Bishalgarh, Tripura, India
NationalityIndian
Alma mater
OccupationMD & CEO of Bandhan Bank[1]
SpouseNilima Ghosh
ChildrenAngshuman Ghosh

Early life and education

Ghosh's father, Late Haripada Ghosh, owned a sweet shop in Tripura.[3] Even as a student, Ghosh supported his father at the shop. After completing his education, he joined BRAC, Bangladesh’s largest non-government organisation (NGO). After returning to India, Ghosh worked with several NGOs, before quitting his last job at the Village Welfare Society. He then established Bandhan-Konnagar, a not-for-profit organisation in West Bengal, which aimed to provide microfinance services to the marginalised, thereby driving financial inclusion.[4]

Ghosh holds a Master’s degree in Statistics.

Career
Ghosh at a meet addressing the audience

Ghosh started Bandhan-Konnagar in 2001. The NGO extended micro-credit to marginalised women to help them become entrepreneurs. In 2009, the microfinance portfolio of the NGO was transferred to the NBFC, which Bandhan had acquired in 2006.[5] Gradually, the organisation expanded its operations to various states of the country. In 2010, Bandhan became the largest microfinance institution in India.

In 2014, Bandhan received an in-principle approval from the Reserve Bank of India to set up a universal bank. The final licence was obtained in June 2015. Bandhan Bank started operations on August 23, 2015,[6] with Ghosh as the MD & CEO. This is the first-ever instance of an Indian microfinance institution becoming a universal bank.[7] Incidentally, Bandhan Bank is also the first bank to be set up in Eastern India since Independence.

Besides being the former Chairman of The Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), Eastern Region, and the former President of Bengal Chamber of Commerce & Industry (BCC&I), he is also associated with various other industry bodies.

Awards
  • 'Senior Ashoka Fellow' – social entrepreneurship award – in 2007 by Ashoka Foundation[8]
  • 'Entrepreneur with Social Impact' 2014 by Forbes India Leadership Awards[9]
  • ‘Entrepreneur of the Year’ 2014 by The Economic Times[10]
  • CNN-IBN ‘Indian of the Year’ in 2016 in the Business category[11]
  • ‘Banker of the Year’ for 2018-19 by Business Standard[12]

Personal life

Ghosh’s wife, Nilima, is an entrepreneur. His son, Angshuman, is currently a management student in England.

References
  1. "RBI approves re-appointment of C.S.Ghosh as MD and CEO of Bandhan Bank". Business Standard. Retrieved 22 October 2021.
  2. "Meet Bandhan CMD Chandra Shekhar Ghosh, the man who pipped Birlas and Ambanis for a bank license". The Economic Times. Retrieved 26 February 2015.
  3. Gupta, Surojit. "Bandhan founder Chandra Shekhar Ghosh: From sweet shop to bank owner". The Economic Times. Retrieved 3 March 2022.
  4. "Chandra Shekhar Ghosh's Bandhan banks on building ties with the underprivileged". Forbes. Retrieved 26 February 2015.
  5. "Bandhan Financial Services - MoneyMint". moneymint.com. 18 October 2019. Retrieved 3 March 2022.
  6. Anand, Manojit Saha & Nupur. "Bandhan gets final RBI nod, to start bank on August 23". www.business-standard.com. Retrieved 3 March 2022.
  7. Bandyopadhyay, Tamal (23 August 2015). "India gets a new bank". mint. Retrieved 3 March 2022.
  8. "Winners - 2007". Ashoka | Awards.
  9. "Winners - 2014". Forbes India. Retrieved 26 February 2015.
  10. "ET Awards 2014: Chandra Shekhar Ghosh is Entrepreneur of the Year for building Bandhan from scratch". The Economic Times. Retrieved 26 February 2015.
  11. "India of the Year - 2016 by CNN IBN".
  12. Jha, Suman K. "We Need More Bandhans Across India, Says Chandra Shekhar Ghosh". BW Businessworld. Retrieved 24 September 2019.
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