Dikhyaa Mohanty 
Anu Garg, Development Commissioner-cum-Additional Chief Secretary (ACS) to the Government of Odisha, and V.N. Kamble, Executive Director of UCO Bank, co-chaired the 178th State Level Bankers’ Committee (SLBC) meeting. Anu Garg stressed in her speech the need of meeting the Annual Credit Plan (ACP) target of Rs. 2.11 lakh crore for FY 2024–2025. In addition to resolving regional disparities in credit distribution, she advised banks to give priority to loan flow in important areas like housing, education, and exports, especially for women, Scheduled Castes (SC), Scheduled Tribes (ST), and disadvantaged segments.
In addition, Garg emphasized the significance of PM-SVANidhi, which is still regularly reviewed by the Prime Minister, and urged banks to provide funding for the recently introduced “Financial Assistance to Cold Storage” scheme, which aims to improve Odisha’s Credit-to-GSDP ratio, strengthen the state’s storage infrastructure, reduce post-harvest losses, and stop farmers from selling in distress. According to NABARD estimates, the ACP target for FY 2025-26 is Rs. 2.52 lakh crore.
UCO Bank Executive Director V.N. Kamble praised banks for meeting 100% performance in social security programs such PMJJBY, PMSBY, and PMJDY as well as reaching 68.95% of the ACP objective as of December 31, 2024. He did, however, voice worries about the PM Vishwakarma scheme’s poor performance, the housing sector’s registration issues, and the decline in SHG loan applications.
The RBI’s regional director, Dr. S.P. Mohanty, observed that Odisha’s credit growth rate was lower than the national average and that the state had substantial inflation in food and retail prices. He also described the RBI’s efforts to raise cybersecurity and financial literacy in Odisha.
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.
