Srinagar, Aug 15: Amid the nationwide ‘Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav’ festivities, J&K Bank celebrated the country’s Independence Day with fervor, with MD & CEO Baldev Prakash hoisting the tricolour here at the bank’s corporate headquarters.

General Managers, Deputy General Managers, Departmental Heads and other senior officers of the bank were present on the occasion while Colonel Ravi Kumar, Ex-serviceman & District Sainik Welfare Officer (Srinagar) Rashid War were the guests. 

In line with the idea of developing Amrit Vatika, MD & CEO Baldev Prakash along with senior management functionaries planted a sapling in the lawns of CHQ and dedicated the plant as part of the bank’s salutations to the forces protecting the country, the bank said in a statement issued here. 

As part of paying tribute to heroes of the nation under 'Veeron Ka Vandhan’ theme, he also handed over Laptops, Tablets and Biometric Devices to the District Sainik Welfare Officer (Srinagar) in the presence of Colonel Ravi Kumar. 

After the flag-hoisting ceremony that concluded with the national anthem, MD & CEO Baldev Prakash spoke about the importance of the day. “Today is of great significance as ‘Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav’ - the grand celebrations of the spirit of freedom – reverberates across the country while nearing its culmination. The theme ‘Meri Maati Mera Desh’  chosen by the Union Government for this day adds more colour to the spirit of independence through a unified celebration of India's soil and valour as the nation commemorates its journey of freedom and progress. Therefore, as we celebrate this Independence Day with colleagues, friends, family and loved ones, let’s take a minute to remember and reflect on how truly fortunate we are to be able to celebrate this day. So it is the time to express our solidarity with and gratitude to all our brave-hearts by paying homage to them for giving the ultimate sacrifice for the country.” 

He also touched upon the bank’s legacy of 85 years admiring the vision of Shri Maharaja Hari Singh, saying “Today we are a proud family of over 12000 members, serving over 20 million customers across the country through more than 2500 business touch-points. Our recent performances like the highest-ever annual profit of Rs 1197 Cr for FY 2022-23 and quarterly net of Rs 326 Cr for the first quarter of FY 2023-24 are indicative of our success-in-progress.”

Reiterating the bank’s role in J&K, MD & CEO said that the bank will continue to work towards saturation of self-employment in the UT. He concluded the address by saying, “May our country progress and prosper every day. May our institution progress and prosper every day.”  

The bank’s Executive Director Sudhir Gupta also hoisted the national flag on the lawns of the Zonal Office in Jammu in the presence of GM & Divisional Head (Jammu), Zonal Head and other officials of the bank.