Odisha SLBC Meeting Sets ₹2.52 Lakh Crore Credit Target, Focuses on Housing & Agriculture

The 178th State Level Bankers’ Committee (SLBC) meeting was held on March 6, 2025, under the co-chairmanship of Development Commissioner-cum-Additional Chief Secretary (ACS) to the Government of Odisha, Smt. Anu Garg, IAS, and Executive Director, UCO Bank, Sri V.N. Kamble.

In her address, Smt. Anu Garg emphasized the need to achieve 100% of the Annual Credit Plan (ACP) target, amounting to ₹2.11 lakh crore for FY 2024-25. She urged all banks to focus on enhancing credit flow to the housing, education, and export sectors. She also highlighted the importance of minimizing regional imbalances in credit distribution, particularly for women, SC/ST communities, and weaker sections of society.

Smt. Garg stressed the need for adequate financing under the PM-SVANidhi scheme, given its regular review by the Hon’ble Prime Minister. Additionally, she called on banks to support the recently launched “Financial Assistance to Cold Storage” scheme, aimed at strengthening the State’s storage ecosystem, reducing post-harvest losses, and preventing distress sales by farmers. She also urged banks to increase credit disbursement to improve Odisha’s Credit-to-GSDP ratio, bringing it at par with other states.

Announcing the ACP target for FY 2025-26, she stated that the target has been set at ₹2.52 lakh crore, as projected by NABARD.

Key Highlights:

• Banks were urged to achieve 100% ACP target (₹2.11 lakh crore) for FY 2024-25.
• Increased credit flow to housing, education, social infrastructure, and exports was emphasized.
• The Government’s new cold storage scheme was highlighted as a priority area.
• Improving the Credit-to-GSDP ratio was stressed to bring Odisha in line with other states.
• Banks were encouraged to escalate credit flow, especially for women, SC/ST communities, and weaker sections.
• The ACP target for FY 2025-26 was set at ₹2.52 lakh crore, as per NABARD projections.

Sri V.N. Kamble, Executive Director of UCO Bank, commended bankers for achieving 68.95% of the ACP target as of December 31, 2024, and for meeting 100% targets in social security schemes such as PMJJBY, PMSBY, and PMJDY. However, he expressed concerns about:

• Poor performance in the PM-Vishwakarma scheme
• Declining applications for SHG loans
• Challenges in housing loan registrations

Dr. S.P. Mohanty, Regional Director, RBI, pointed out high retail and food price inflation in Odisha, a low credit growth rate compared to the national average, and RBI’s initiatives to promote financial literacy and cybersecurity.

Sri Saswat Mishra, Principal Secretary, Finance Department, emphasized the need for private sector banks to improve their performance in government-sponsored schemes like PMEGP, PMFME, PM Mudra, and Stand Up India. He suggested forming a dedicated committee to examine credit flow in the housing and education sectors. He also requested the SLBC convenor to provide claim settlement statistics for social security schemes such as PMJJBY and PMSBY.

Dr. Arabinda Kumar Padhee, Principal Secretary, Agriculture & Farmers’ Empowerment Department, briefed the committee on the newly launched “Financing to Cold Storage” scheme and informed that the Scale of Finance has been standardized across all districts. He also appreciated bankers’ efforts in implementing the Mukhyamantri Krushi Udyog Yojana (MKUY), which supports agricultural entrepreneurs in the state.

The meeting was attended by the SLBC convenor, senior officials from the State and Central Governments, NABARD representatives, and regional controlling heads of various banks.