Bhubaneswar: The 182nd State Level Bankers’ Committee meeting for Odisha was held on March 10, 2026, in Bhubaneswar to review the banking sector’s performance for the quarter ended December 2025.
Development Commissioner-cum-ACS Shri Deoranjan Kumar Singh urged financial institutions to align their operations with the Vikshit Odisha Vision 2036 and 2047 by actively supporting the state’s investment process and promoting credit growth.
To improve financial inclusion, the state government is offering rent-free banking spaces to encourage the opening of brick-and-mortar branches in unbanked Gram Panchayats.
Principal Secretary, Finance, Shri Sanjeeb Kumar Mishra emphasized several key technical and strategic goals for the state’s banking sector. He highlighted the importance of enhancing the Credit-Deposit (CD) ratio across Odisha and urged banks to focus on their Annual Credit Plan (ACP) achievements.
Principal Secretary Finance, Shri Mishra emphasized the need for the inter-usability of Central KYC (CKYC) to streamline financial processes and improve the ease of doing business
Banks were further instructed to prioritize the prompt processing of loan proposals under various government schemes, including PMEGP, PMAY, and PM Surya Ghar Muft Bijli Yojana, ensuring no pending cases remain. Additionally, the Regional Director of the RBI advised banks to refund all unclaimed or DEAF state government deposits to the Finance Department by March 31, 2026.
Shri Ashwani Kumar, MD and CEO of UCO Bank and Chairman of SLBC Odisha, reported that banks have achieved priority sector lending of 1,73,662.58 crore rupees against an annual target of 2,52,095.66 crore rupees.
He called upon all institutions to meet their individual targets by the end of the current financial year. Other key directives included the adoption of Central KYC to enhance transparency and ease of doing business, as well as an emphasis on increasing credit flow to the education, housing, and agri-allied sectors.