Bhubaneswar: The National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) on Tuesday hosted the State Credit Seminar for 2026–27 in Bhubaneswar and released the State Focus Paper (SFP), projecting a priority sector credit potential of ₹3.15 lakh crore for Odisha in the financial year 2026–27.
According to the SFP, the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) sector accounts for the largest share of the projected credit at ₹1.52 lakh crore, followed by agriculture with a potential of ₹1.14 lakh crore. The remaining credit potential is spread across housing, education, renewable energy, social infrastructure, export credit and other sectors.
The seminar was chaired by Odisha Chief Secretary Anu Garg and attended by Sanjeeb Kumar Mishra, Principal Secretary (Finance), Dr Sarada Prasan Mohanty, Regional Director, Reserve Bank of India, A.D. Ratna Teja, Chief General Manager (CGM), State Bank of India, and Goutam Patra, CGM, UCO Bank and Convenor, State Level Bankers’ Committee (SLBC). Controlling heads of banks, senior officials from State government departments and other stakeholders were also present.
In her inaugural address, the Chief Secretary highlighted the State Government’s Vision 2036 blueprint and called for collective efforts from all stakeholders to achieve the goal of making Odisha a developed state by 2036 and a USD 1.5 trillion economy by 2047.
“Fulfilling Odisha’s Vision 2036 aspirations would take sincere efforts from one and all — the State government, public as well as private sectors. Banks must be well prepared to provide the enhanced credit,” she said.
Appreciating the State’s progress in supporting Self-Help Groups (SHGs) and farmers, she stressed the need to move them up the value chain. “Focus must be accorded on graduating SHGs into SMEs and farmers into agripreneurs,” she said. She also flagged the challenge of the ‘missing middle’ in the MSME sector and urged bankers to strengthen credit support for small and mid-sized industries.
Calling for closer coordination between banks and line departments, the Chief Secretary emphasised faster credit flow for agri-infrastructure, warehousing, off-farm activities and women-led SHGs.
Principal Secretary (Finance) Sanjeeb Kumar Mishra, while lauding the State’s credit growth, underlined the importance of balanced regional development. “Focus should also be given to boost credit in tribal and disadvantaged regions,” he said, urging private sector banks to enhance priority sector lending across the State to improve the credit-deposit (CD) ratio.
RBI Regional Director Dr Sarada Prasan Mohanty urged banks to take ownership of the projections outlined in the State Focus Paper, which would form the basis of the Annual Credit Plan for Odisha.
CGM, SBI A.D. Ratna Teja appreciated NABARD’s consultative and bottom-up approach in preparing the SFP. SLBC Convenor and CGM, UCO Bank, Goutam Patra said that while banks had recorded strong growth in deposits and credit, challenges such as uneven CD ratios, low term lending and gaps in Kisan Credit Card (KCC) coverage remained.
V.K. Arya, CGM, NABARD, said concerted efforts were needed to further enhance credit flow to the priority sector, especially agriculture and allied activities.
“Odisha carries huge potential in credit growth in view of its vast geography, diverse agro-ecology and strong economic development over the past decade,” he said.
