Piramal Finance Limited (formerly Piramal Capital & Housing Finance Ltd), a leading diversified NBFC, has announced a partnership with BLS E-Services, a digital services provider, to expand access to formal credit for underserved individuals and MSMEs across rural and semi-urban India.
Through BLS’s extensive network of more than 144,000 touchpoints in Tier 2, 3, and 4 towns, customers will now be able to access financial products such as home loans, personal loans, used car loans, and unsecured business loans. The collaboration leverages Piramal Finance’s phygital lending model along with BLS’s local presence, making credit simpler, faster, and more inclusive.
“This initiative will empower village entrepreneurs, underserved MSMEs, and first-time borrowers by providing access to finance in the remotest corners of the country,” said Shikhar Aggarwal, Chairman, BLS E-Services Ltd. “We aim to reach over one million unserved rural customers by 2030.”
Jairam Sridharan, Managing Director, Piramal Finance Ltd, added: “Our collaboration with BLS E-Services bridges the credit gap by leveraging their nationwide reach. This will enable more families and small businesses to achieve their goals, while contributing to the economic growth of Bharat.”
The initiative aligns with recent trends highlighted by the RBI’s Report on Trend and Progress of Banking in India (FY 2023-24), which shows steady growth in rural and semi-urban credit markets. Rural India’s share of outstanding bank credit rose from 6.7% in 2019 to 7.8% in 2024, while semi-urban areas increased from 10.5% to 13.8%.
By tapping into this momentum, Piramal Finance and BLS aim to deepen financial inclusion, support local economies, and serve millions of first-time borrowers across India.