NABARD pegs credit potential at Rs 90,000 crore for Odisha

Finance Minister Niranjan Pujari advised regional banking heads to increase their outreach in un-banked areas of the State to help in effective implementation of various developmental programmes.
Odisha Finance Minister Niranjan Pujari (File Photo | EPS)
Odisha Finance Minister Niranjan Pujari (File Photo | EPS)

BHUBANESWAR: The National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) on Monday projected a credit potential of Rs 90,395.69 crore for Odisha under priority sector for 2020-21 fiscal. The projection was made in the State Focus Paper released by Finance Minister Niranjan Pujari at the annual State Credit Seminar organised by NABARD for 2018-19 here.

Inaugurating the seminar, Pujari emphasised the need for increasing agriculture term loan finance in other allied sector activities such as animal husbandry, poultry and fisheries leading to asset formation and diversification of farmers’ income.

Pujari advised regional banking heads to increase their outreach in un-banked areas of the State to help in effective implementation of various developmental programmes while increasing the scope of digital banking and financial inclusion across the State. The Finance Minister also highlighted the need for a coordinated support from all the stakeholders to make Odisha a leading State in Indian economy.

Principal Secretary (Finance), Ashok Meena applauded NABARD for highlighting the importance of agriculture and allied sectors in overall credit potential of the State whose two-third population is dependent on agriculture.

He appealed all commercial banks to increase agriculture term loan under various State Government programmes, especially Mukhyamantri Krushi Udyog Yojana (MMKUY). Assuring full support of the Government in working with banking sector to improve the rural credit scenario, Meena urged the bankers to focus on farmer-producer organisation (FPO) and joint liability groups (JLG) financing.

Of the total credit potential for priority sector, Rs 43,282.11 crore has been assessed under agriculture. Emphasis has been given to re-calibrate the potential assessment keeping in view recent trends in achievement of ground level credit.

Credit potential under agriculture constitutes 47.88 per cent of the total priority sector, of which Rs 40,227.79 crore or 92.94 per cent is estimated under farm credit, which comprises both crop loans and term loans.

The State Focus Paper has assessed the credit potential under MSME sector at Rs 30,457.99 crore. Other sectors consisting of export credit, education, housing, renewable energy, others and social infrastructure have 18.43 per cent share.

While assessing the projected credit potential under various sectors and sub sectors in the State, the focus paper indicates critical infrastructure gaps and makes suggestions with a view to overcome the constraints.
RBI Regional Director MK Mall, NABARD CGM A Chandrasekhar, SBI CGM Praveena Kala and SLCB convener Sanjay Kumar also spoke.

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