No. 001 · Finance · Satara district, Maharashtra
Chetna Gala Sinha
She opened a bank for the women the banks turned away.
In a drought-prone taluka of Maharashtra, Chetna Gala Sinha built a cooperative bank owned by rural women, then business schools, a chamber of commerce and a radio station around it. In 2024, Mann Deshi passed one million women.
Founder and Chairperson, Mann Deshi Mahila Sahakari Bank and Mann Deshi Foundation
A woman named Kantabai, from Mhaswad, wants to save money for her family. A bank refuses to open her a savings account.
Where it began
10,00,000 women reached by Mann Deshi, a mark passed in 2024. Each dot is a thousand of them; the bright one, in the middle, is where it began.
From one refusal
to a bank
- 1996. Chetna Gala Sinha founds the Mann Deshi Foundation in Mhaswad, a drought-stricken area of Maharashtra.
- The first application for a licence to run a rural women's bank is rejected: many of the women promoting it cannot read or write.
- Kantabai and the other women take literacy classes and learn to read and write.
- She goes back to the Reserve Bank of India with fifteen women, and shows what they can do with numbers.
- 1997. Mann Deshi Mahila Sahakari Bank opens: India's first bank for and by rural women.
Denominations
The promise on this note
Our courage is our capital
The message the women of Mann Deshi gave her to take to Davos, where she co-chaired the World Economic Forum in 2018.
What she built around the bank
A bank. A cooperative bank for rural women, with products designed around how they earn: the foundation lists India's first pension fund for rural women micro-entrepreneurs, with the Unit Trust of India, and the first cash-credit product for women in weekly markets.
Business schools on wheels. Courses for women who run or want to run a business. Many of the schools are run out of buses that travel to the remotest villages.
A chamber of commerce. A chamber of commerce for rural women micro-entrepreneurs, with a toll-free helpline, advice, access to markets and advocacy.
A radio station. Community radio on the stories and issues that matter to women in business, government schemes, and the region's music and folk traditions.
Water, farms and girls on bicycles. Water conservation for small farmers, farm-to-market links, a sports programme for village youth, and bicycles so girls can keep going to school.
Seals and signatures
- Nari Shakti Puraskar, India's highest civilian award for women who work for women's empowerment
- Co-Chair of the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting in Davos, 2018
- Co-Chair of Financial Inclusion at the W20 Summit in Argentina, 2018
- Speaker at the inaugural session of the 68th Commission on the Status of Women, United Nations, New York, 11 March 2024
In her words
“Financial independence is not just about accumulating wealth but also about having control over your own financial destiny.”
“Don't be afraid to think differently and embrace innovation.”
“In India, many accounts are registered under women's names, but they often lack control over those accounts.”
Entry 001 of 100
The Prive 100 names one hundred women who built something in India, from listed companies to village banks. The full list is published in 2027. This entry has not been reviewed by Chetna Gala Sinha.
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