Bhubaneswar: The 178th State Level Bankers’ Committee (SLBC) meeting was held under the co-chairmanship of Anu Garg, Development Commissioner-cum-Additional Chief Secretary (ACS) to the Government of Odisha, and V.N. Kamble, Executive Director of UCO Bank.
In her address, Anu Garg emphasized the need to achieve 100% of the Annual Credit Plan (ACP) target, set at Rs. 2.11 lakh crore for FY 2024-25. She urged banks to prioritize credit flow in key sectors such as housing, education, and exports while also addressing regional imbalances in credit distribution, particularly for women, Scheduled Castes (SC), Scheduled Tribes (ST), and weaker sections.
Garg also highlighted the importance of PM-SVANidhi, as it remains under regular review by the Prime Minister, and called on banks to extend financial support to the newly launched “Financial Assistance to Cold Storage” scheme. This initiative aims to strengthen the state’s storage infrastructure, minimize post-harvest losses, and prevent distress sales by farmers. Furthermore, she urged banks to work towards improving Odisha’s Credit-to-GSDP ratio and announced a projected ACP target of Rs. 2.52 lakh crore for FY 2025-26, as per NABARD estimates.
Concerns Over Credit Growth and Social Security Schemes
V.N. Kamble, Executive Director of UCO Bank, commended banks for achieving 68.95% of the ACP target as of December 31, 2024, along with 100% performance in social security schemes such as PMJJBY, PMSBY, and PMJDY. However, he expressed concerns over the underperformance in the PM Vishwakarma scheme, declining SHG loan applications, and registration challenges in the housing sector.
Dr. S.P. Mohanty, Regional Director of RBI, noted high retail and food price inflation in Odisha and the state’s lower credit growth rate compared to the national average. He also outlined RBI’s initiatives to promote financial literacy and cybersecurity awareness across Odisha.
Call for Improved Private Bank Participation in Government Schemes
Saswat Mishra, Principal Secretary of the Finance Department, urged private sector banks to enhance their participation in government-backed schemes such as PMEGP, PMFME, PM Mudra, and Stand Up India. He suggested forming a dedicated committee to assess credit flow in the housing and education sectors and requested SLBC to provide claim settlement statistics for social security schemes.
Dr. Arabinda Kumar Padhee, Principal Secretary of the Agriculture & Farmers’ Empowerment Department, briefed the committee on the newly introduced Cold Storage Financing scheme. He also noted that the Scale of Finance has been standardized across all districts, ensuring uniform credit access for farmers. Additionally, he acknowledged banks’ contributions to the MKUY scheme, which supports agricultural entrepreneurs in the state.
The meeting was attended by senior officials from the State and Central Government, NABARD representatives, and regional heads of various banks.
