BHUBANESWAR: The Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik gave a call to the bankers to increase the outreach of the credit on priority basis to the small farmers and entrepreneurs in the State. The Chief Minister was addressing over 2.5 lakh bank officers on the inaugural session of the ninth Triennial General Council of the All India Bank Officers Confederation (AIBOC) here.
"The lower creditdeposit ratio of around 64 per cent is not satisfactory and what is worrying my Government is the ratio is on the decline", said Patnaik. He said the lack of access to formal credit is proving a bottleneck in the productive utilisation of the entrepreneurial skill in the State.
"Formal credit flow to the agriculture and allied sector is very critical. It is not because agriculture sector contributes around 30 per cent to the gross state domestic product (GSDP) but the sector provides sustenance to over 60 per cent of the work force. Also, good agriculture growth can only increase the pace of industrial growth and investment in the State", emphasised Naveen.
Continuing on the critical significance of the credit for the State, Naveen highlighted his Government's focus on the micro, small and medium industries that account for ninety per cent of the enterprises and employ a significant chunk of workforce in the State. "Growth of MSMEs brings equitable growth. My government has also framed a new MSME policy in 2009 to provide impetus to the cluster model and facilitate the ancillary and downstream industries to bring an equitable growth. But the poor credit flow to the sector is hampering the growth", said Naveen.
Naveen said banks in Orissa have to make concerted efforts to bring in complete financial inclusion in the State. "Banks have to pool all the available resources including the modern technology to ensure complete financial inclusion,'' he said adding, ''the financial inclusion alone can make the benefits of globalisation reach the people and prevent in the socioeconomic disruption''.
Addressing the Council, State Finance Minister Prafulla Ghadei credited the government with bringing a change in the State's image from a backward state to a land of 'opportunities'. He made this observation in the context of largescale inflow of industrial investments to the State. "But the lack of banking facilities in many parts of the State is still a big concern. For ensuring equitable growth, agriculture and industry have to grow simultaneously. Growth of agriculture is very critical and the high inflation of food prices has impacted on the livelihood of many", said Ghadei. Good outreach of banking facilities can bring in homogenous and equitable growth, he said.
Punjab National Bank CMD K Kamath and Minister of State for Sports and Youth Affairs PC Bhanjdeo were also present there.