Bhubaneswar: While Six Public Sector Banks are set to implement ‘CSP Plus’ Banking Outlet Program in the State, Lion Share goes to State Bank of India (SBI) which will set up 1487 Banking Outlets out of 4373 across the State. And Ganjam District will top among the districts with 362 Banking Outlets.
As the State Cabinet has approved the scheme to open “CSP Plus” Banking Outlet, Six Public Sector Banks (PSBs), namely State Bank of India (SBI), Punjab National Bank (PNB), UCO Bank, Union Bank of India, Bank of Baroda and Bank of India have been shortlisted.
Out of 6798 GPs, around 65% of Gram Panchayat(GP)s (4373 GPs) do not have brick and mortar branches. Since banking is an essential service for financial inclusion, every GP of the State needs to be provided with a brick and mortar branch for uninterrupted banking services.
A detailed report reveals that SBI will set up 1487, PNB has been allotted 777, UBI will have 675, UCO will put up 660, BOI has been tagged for 525 and BOB will have 234, as per sources. Few left out will be finalized to be tagged soon to these PSBs, said sources.
Among Banking Outlets to be opened in the Districts, Ganjam will have the Lion Share with 362 outlets, followed by 288 in Mayurbhanj, 240 in Cuttack, 224 in Balasore,209 in Sundargarh, 207 in Jajpur, 185 in Bargarh, 183 in Koraput, 160 in Nabarangpur, 158 in Angul, 155 in Keonjhar, 147 in Dhenkanal, 146 in Kandhamal, 145 in Puri, 137 each in Rayagada and Nayagarh, 129 in Balangir, 123 in Kalahandi, 121 in Kendrapara, 114 in Bhadrakh, 101 in Jagatsinghpur, 100 in Gajapati, 96 in Sambalpur, 95 in Nuapada, 90 in Malkangiri, 82 each in Subarnapur and Khorda, 55 in Jharsuguda, 53 in Deogarh and 49 in Boudh, said sources.
While Financial inclusion is a high priority agenda of the Government. For the State, Financial inclusion is still a critical challenge since banking penetration in the state is quite low in these areas.
This program will be implemented in a phased manner to cover all 4373 unbanked GPs in the State for providing banking services through CSP Plus banking outlets within the current financial year 2023-24.
The Government of Odisha will provide rent free banking space for 5 years. In addition to this, the Government will also bear onetime expenses for Fixed Cost and Recurring expenses for a period of three years, he said.
The scheme will enhance the coverage of financial inclusion in the State in a big way. People residing in all unbanked Gram Panchayats of the State will have easy access to all kinds of banking services free of cost.
District Collectors will make the space ready for setting up Banking Outlets and funds will be placed with them soon.
Dateline has been assigned for such an initiative and the Program will be implemented in a time bound manner as the State Government is attaching highest priority for ‘Financial Inclusion’.