Bhubaneswar: The 178th State Level Bankers’ Committee (SLBC) meeting was held under the co-chairmanship of Development Commissioner-cum-Additional Chief Secretary (ACS) to the Government of Odisha, Anu Garg, and Executive Director of UCO Bank, V.N. Kamble. The meeting focused on accelerating credit flow, achieving 100% of the Annual Credit Plan (ACP), and supporting key sectors like housing, education, exports, and social infrastructure.
Development Commissioner Anu Garg urged all banks to meet the ACP target of ₹2.11 lakh crore for the financial year 2024-25 and emphasized reducing regional imbalances in credit flow, especially for women, SC/ST communities, and weaker sections. She highlighted the new state initiative on cold storage infrastructure, stressing its importance in reducing post-harvest losses and preventing distress sales among farmers. She also announced the ACP target of ₹2.52 lakh crore for FY 2025-26, as projected by NABARD, and called for higher credit allocation to improve Odisha’s Credit-to-GSDP ratio.
UCO Bank Executive Director V.N. Kamble appreciated the 68.95% ACP achievement as of December 31, 2024, and acknowledged 100% target achievement in social security schemes like PMJJBY, PMSBY, and PMJDY. However, he expressed concern over the low performance of banks under the PM Vishwakarma scheme, declining SHG loan applications, and registration challenges in the housing sector. He urged banks to work towards achieving full ACP realization for the ongoing financial year.
RBI Regional Director Dr. S.P. Mohanty raised concerns about high retail and food price inflation in Odisha and the state’s low credit growth compared to the national level. He also outlined RBI’s ongoing initiatives to promote financial literacy and cybersecurity awareness across the state.
Finance Secretary Saswat Mishra called for better private sector bank participation in government-sponsored schemes such as PMEGP, PMFME, PM Mudra, and Stand-Up India. He proposed the formation of a separate committee to assess credit flow in the housing and education sectors and requested SLBC to provide data on claim settlements under social security schemes.
Agriculture & Farmers’ Empowerment Secretary Dr. Arabinda Kumar Padhee detailed the recently launched Financing to Cold Storage scheme and informed the committee that the state government has introduced uniform Scale of Finance across all districts. He also commended bankers for their efforts under the MKUY scheme, which supports agri-entrepreneurs in Odisha.
The meeting was attended by senior officials from the State and Central Governments, NABARD, SLBC representatives, and regional banking heads, reaffirming their commitment to financial inclusion, economic growth, and infrastructure development in Odisha.
