State Bank of Saurashtra
Encyclopedia
State Bank of Saurashtra was a government-owned bank in India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

. It was one of the seven Associate Banks of the State Bank of India
State Bank of India
The State Bank of India is the largest Indian banking and financial services company with its headquarters in Mumbai, India. It is state-owned. The bank traces its ancestry to British India, through the Imperial Bank of India, to the founding in 1806 of the Bank of Calcutta, making it the oldest...

, with which it merged on 13 August 2008. At the time of the merger, the Bank had a network of 423 branches spread over 15 states and the Union Territory of Daman and Diu.

Prior to 1948, the region of Saurashtra, which at present forms a part of Gujarat State, comprised many small, medium and large princely states. Bhavnagar
Bhavnagar
-Topography:Bhavnagar is a coastal city in the eastern coast of Saurashtra, also known as Kathiawar, located at . It has an average elevation of 24 metres . It occupies area of 53.30 km². General slope dips in the northeasterly direction at the apex of Gulf of Khambhat...

, Rajkot and Porbandar
Porbandar
Porbandar is a coastal city in the Indian state of Gujarat, perhaps best known for being the birthplace of Mahatma Gandhi and Sudama...

, which were among the larger states, and two smaller states, Palitana
Palitana
Palitana is a city in Bhavnagar district, Gujarat, India. It is located 50 km southwest of Bhavnagar city and is a major pilgrimage centre for Jains.-History:...

 and Vadia
Vadia
Vadia is a census town in Narmada district in the Indian state of Gujarat.The most popular and sexiest WWE King of the ring-References:...

, had established their own Darbar (meaning Palace) Banks, the oldest of which was Bhavnagar Darbar Bank, established in 1902. These banks mainly catered to the needs of the governments of their respective princely states, and acted as depositories for local savings. After the establishment of Saurashtra state in 1948, there was a parallel amalgamation of these banks. The Bhavnagar Darbar Bank became the State Bank of Saurashtra, under the Saurashtra State Bank (Amalgamation) Ordinance, 1950, and the four Darbar Banks - Rajkot State Bank, Porbandar State Bank, Palitana Darbar Bank and Vadia State Bank - were merged with it with effect from 1 July, 1950 as its branches. At the close of 1950 the Bank had only 9 branches and deposits of Rs.7 crores.

In 1960, following the formation of a separate Gujarat State, the Bank's main area of operation - Saurashtra - became a part of Gujarat. At the same time, the State Bank of India
State Bank of India
The State Bank of India is the largest Indian banking and financial services company with its headquarters in Mumbai, India. It is state-owned. The bank traces its ancestry to British India, through the Imperial Bank of India, to the founding in 1806 of the Bank of Calcutta, making it the oldest...

took over the State Bank of Saurashtra, along with the other major state-owned banks under the State Bank of India (Subsidiary Banks) Act, 1959. By this time, the number of branches had increased to 24, with aggregate deposits of Rs.13.39 crores, total advances of Rs.7.93 crores, and an investment portfolio of Rs.8.04 crores. The paid up capital and reserves were Rs.1.51 crores. The Bank also had 866 employees.

The bank's first chairman was Jagubhai S.Parikh, and he served until 1960. He was the Deputy Chief Minister of Bhavnagar State Cabinet and was the first Finance Minister in the post-Independence Saurashtra Cabinet.
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