Chandra Shekhar Ghosh


Chandra Shekhar Ghosh, born in 1960 at Bishalgarh in Tripura India, is the founder, CEO and managing director of Bandhan Bank.

Education and early years

Ghosh's father Haripada Ghosh owned a sweet shop in Tripura. Ghosh used to support his father at the shop along with his studies. Ghosh completed his Master's in statistics from Dhaka University. After completing his education he joined BRAC an NGO in Bangladesh. After returning to India, Ghosh worked with several NGOs. He quit his last job at Village Welfare Society and established Bandhan-Konnagar, an NGO in West Bengal, which aimed to provide microfinance services to the marginalised and drive financial inclusion.

Bandhan and Bandhan Bank

Ghosh started Bandhan-Konnagar in 2001 with a capital of INR 2,00,000 and three employees in Kolkata, West Bengal. The NGO provided microfinance services to small and marginalised women entrepreneurs in areas not assisted by formal banking services. In 2009, Ghosh transferred the microfinance portfolio of the NGO to the NBFC that he had acquired. in 2010, Bandhan was recognised as the largest microfinance entity in India.
In 2014, the Reserve bank of India granted an approval for banking license to Bandhan. Bandhan Bank started operations on August 23, 2015, with Ghosh as the MD & CEO. This is the first instance of a microfinance enterprise getting the banking license in India and also the first instance of a universal bank being set up in the East of India since Independence.

Industry Affiliations

Mr. Ghosh is the Past Chairman, Confederation of Indian Industry, Eastern Region. He is also Past Chairman of CII’s Economic Affairs, Finance & Taxation Committee, presently a Member at the same. He also Co-Chairs the Financial Inclusion Committee of Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry. He is the Past President of the Bengal Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

Awards

Ghosh lives in Kolkata along with his wife Nilima Ghosh and 21-year-old son Angshuman Ghosh.