Thiruvananthapuram, Feb 2 (IANS) UTI Mutual Fund Wednesday announced its tie-up with HDFC Bank for an investor education initiative called ‘Swatantra’ in Kerala, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu.
‘We are happy to partner with India’s oldest fund house UTI Mutual Fund in this unique investor education initiative. HDFC Bank’s huge network of rural and semi-rural branches across Kerala, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu will interact with millions of people living in rural areas to impart financial knowledge which hitherto has been the domain of the urban rich,’ HDFC Bank’s senior executive vice-president (private banking group and third party products) Nitin Rao said.
As part of this initiative, two ‘UTI Knowledge Caravans’ will travel through small towns of Kerala, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. The caravans were flagged off here Wednesday by Dhiraj Relli, HDFC Bank’s executive vice-president and head of branch banking (south).
The caravans will cover more than 7,300 km in about 56 days. Investor meets will be held in around 130 towns and will be conducted in local languages Tamil, Malayalam and Kannada.
UTI Asset Management Company’s chief marketing officer Jaideep Bhattacharya said ‘Swatantra’ was India’s journey to financial freedom.
‘Taking this initiative to the next level, UTI Mutual Fund has tied up with HDFC Bank, the largest distributor of mutual fund products, for continuing its efforts for spreading financial literacy in the small towns of Kerala, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu,’ said Bhattacharya.