BHUBANESWAR : With banking penetration in Odisha being much below the national average, the State government on Thursday once again urged the commercial banks to improve their network for better financial inclusion and facilitating the low income groups in the direction of strengthening their financial status.
The national average of brick and mortar (B&M) branch and ATM per lakh of population is 18.12 and 22.32 respectively, whereas for Odisha ratio is 13.06 and 18.15. To reach the national average, the State need at least 7,605 B&M branch and 9,369 ATMs.
This was informed by the State-level bankers committee (SLBC) to the State government. Addressing the 167th SLBC meeting here Finance Minister Niranjan Pujari said a large part of the State is still deprived of banking facility in the absence of bank branches.
Expressing concern over lack of banking facility in about 4,056 out of 6,794 gram panchayats (GPs) of the State, Pujari said only 2,378 GPs have brick and mortar branches and the remaining are covered through banking correspondents.
The Minister said that the State government is making sincere efforts to build a conducive atmosphere for private investment and enhanced demand for banking credit to spur growth. The banks must join hands with the government to achieve 100 per cent financial inclusion by opening more branches and improving the financial literacy among the people.
Reminding the bankers that Odisha is the only state in the country that is encouraging banks with awards for priority sector lending, he exhorted them to strive for the honour by offering best services to different sectors.
In May this year, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik awarded nine banks for best performance in priority sector lending, namely Agriculture, Mission Shakti and MSMEs. As the financial inclusion agenda is a priority of the State government, the banks must work for greater women’s financial inclusion to addresses the barriers that they face in the society, the Minister said. He said the delivery of financial services should be at an affordable costs to sections of disadvantaged and low-income segments of the society.