"The current banking system is skewed towards serving prosperous sections of society," Yunus said.
Nobel laureate and Grameen Bank founder Muhammed Yunus on Sunday called for the establishment of independent banks for the poor and underprivileged, as part of empowering women's self-help groups (SHGs) in drought-prone regions.
"It is imperative to establish independent banks for the poor and underprivileged. Poverty, illiteracy and unequal distribution of wealth are some of the unavoidable factual realities of life in every corner of the globe. Zero per cent poverty is not impossible but policies need to strive towards it systematically," Yunus said, while addressing a gathering organised at Hotel Palladium here.
"The current banking system is skewed towards serving prosperous sections of society," Yunus said.
Yunus who was awarded the Nobel Peace prize in 2006, was asked to provide assistance to the Maharashtra government to empower women SHGs in drought-prone Vidarbha and Marathwada regions in order to financially strengthen such families.
Several delegates from ministerial and bureaucratic circles were present on the occasion, as Yunus shared details of his work on Bangladesh's rural banking system, for which the received the Nobel prize.
He shared his experiences in implementing programmes related to micro-finance, self help groups as well as rural banking, among others, and the way it is helping to improve the situation of rural Bangladesh.
"A majority of the world's rural population is still deprived of the benefits and power of banking. Those otherwise considered 'poor' customers are actually better at repaying loans. Hence, it becomes all the more imperative to extend the banking system to them," he said.
He credited women for 97% contribution towards the success of the Bangladeshi Grameen Bank.
"Loan repayment percentage is a staggering 99.6%. Subsequently several other products like insurance, pension and educational loans were added to the service portfolio. Once female literacy went up, it resulted in employment issues and Grammen Bank reciprocated by empowering them with self-driven enterprises," Yunus said.
He said that he never intended to spoon-feed or provide freebies to the rural population since that would make them dependent.
"Our NGO works towards making them independent and it works wonderfully well," he said.
Maharashtra Finance minister Mungantiwar said that the state government would take measures to emulate Grameen Bank's success in the state.
"The approach of a proactive non-subsidised banking ecosystem is a distinguished feature of the Grameen Bank and it highlights the value of providing the underprivileged with the tools to carve out their future," Mungantiwar said.
"Efforts will be aligned to create a model based on the Grameen Bank in Maharashtra to expand the reach of the financial revolution to the lower most strata of the economic pyramid. The world is and will continue to witness unequal distribution of economic wealth," he said.
Mungantiwar said that his government is committed towards empowering those who deserve to be empowered.
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 "Nobel laureate and Grameen Bank founder Muhammed Yunus")
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