Dikhyaa Mohanty 
The Odisha government has worked hard to implement its financial inclusion program, which includes participants from all parts of the state, in order to achieve its goal of increasing banking penetration throughout the whole State. There are efforts being made to offer banking services to all panchayats. Finance Minister Bikram Keshari Arukha presided over the 172nd State-level Bankers Committee meeting in Bhubaneswar as the special guest and reported that the yearly loan plan has had phenomenal success in the agricultural and MSME sectors. However, he asked the banks to take the lead in lending to crucial public sectors like housing and education.
The “Annual Loan Scheme,” which had a cap of Rs. 1.34 lakh crore in 2022–2023, saw a 19.02 per cent rise in 2023–2024. Similar to the prior year, banks must exert significant effort to meet the 100 per cent goal set forth in the “annual loan scheme,” said Arukha. In collaboration with six public sector banks, the government plans to smoothly deliver loans and other banking services to individuals living in the 65 per cent of unbanked panchayats by establishing customer service point-plus (CSP plus) outlets under the new program.
Anu Garg, the Additional Chief Secretary and Development Commissioner, expressed her satisfaction at the meeting about the growth in the credit-deposit ratio (CD ratio) by 81.42 per cent of banks by June 30. She also suggested that banks provide money to certain industries. She also suggested concentrating on establishing banks in places without permanent banks, the “Mission Shakti Scooter” plan, the “Mo Ghara” scheme, education loans, etc. to succeed in the government’s five main programs.
