Agartala, May 29 (IANS) Tripura Gramin Bank (TGB), one of India’s 84 Regional Rural Banks (RRBs), posted a net profit of Rs.3,535 lakh, the highest among the RRBs in eastern and northeastern India, in the last financial year, the bank’s chairman said Saturday.

‘The bank with 111 branches across the state has achieved a profit of Rs.2,071 lakh in the previous FY (2008-09) and Rs.3,535 lakh in 2009-10,’ TGB chairman Nilmani Gangopadhyay told reporters here.

He claimed the TGB also attained a record in per branch business and per staff business with Rs.2,567 lakh and Rs.438 lakh respectively in fiscal 2009-10.

‘The TGB has targeted to achieve a net profit of Rs.500 lakh in the current financial year,’ Gangopadhyay said, adding that by September next year all the 111 branches will have core banking services (CBS).

The bank’s credit-deposit ratio is now 39 percent while for other nationalised commercial banks, it is 32 percent.

The TGB has issued 1,500 biometric cards to disburse wages under the NREGA (National Rural Employment Guarantee Act) and pension under NOAP (National Old Age Pension) schemes.

‘Process is on to bring all the NREGA and NOAP beneficiaries under biometric cards system to make their payment at the door step,’ he said.

Tripura is the second state after Andhra Pradesh to use biometric cards for payments under the NREGA and NOAP.

There are 84 RRBs in India affiliated to the Reserve Bank of India. According to Gangopadhyay, 52 of these are profitable, 26 are in current profit and six are loss-making.