The Bharatiya Mahila Bank has been set up by the government exclusively for women and will predominantly employ women. One of the key objectives of the bank is to focus on the banking needs of women and promote economic empowerment through women's growth and development. The bank has appointed an all-women board of 8 members.

Other branches that would become operational today include Guwahati, Kolkata, Chennai, Bengaluru and Ahmedabad.

The government had also proposed opening of branches in Delhi and Indore, but inauguration of these branches was disallowed by the Election Commission because of elections in these states.

The inauguration of these branches coincides with the birth anniversary of late Prime Minister Indira Gandhi.

Headquartered in Delhi, the government has targeted setting up of 25 such branches across the country by March 31, 2014.

Last week, the government appointed Usha Ananthasubramanian as the bank's chairperson and managing director. In a career spanning over 31 years, Ms Ananthasubramanian has worked in various positions in the banking and allied areas. Before joining BMB, she was an executive director with state-run Punjab National Bank (PNB).

According to reports, the bank will have 39 branches (including mobile and satellite branches) and 127 ATMs by the end of the first year of its operations. It will reportedly have 33,299 customer accounts by the end of the first year.

Bharatiya Mahila Bank had advertised 115 vacancies for the post of probationary officer in September. According to media reports, it has already recruited 103 candidates for the post. Around 36 per cent of the successful candidates are men.

The Reserve Bank of India gave its in-principal approval for the Bharatiya Mahila Bank in June after which the banking company was set up.