Bhubaneswar: Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi today urged leading private sector banks to play a more proactive role in extending financial support to the poor under various welfare schemes. During a high-level meeting at Lok Seva Bhavan, Majhi held discussions with senior representatives of ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank, and Axis Bank, urging them to strengthen their contribution to government-backed poverty alleviation initiatives.
The Chief Minister expressed disappointment over the poor performance of these banks in Odisha, especially in key schemes such as agricultural loans, the Prime Minister’s Employment Generation Programme (PMEGP), PM SVANidhi, Stand-Up India, education loans, housing loans, and export credit. He reminded them that due to their continued underperformance, the state government had removed these banks from its Empanelled List on June 21.
Majhi highlighted the vision of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to uplift the poor through inclusive financial schemes, stressing that the state government is equally committed to connecting marginalized communities with formal banking systems. He said that access to credit is vital for boosting income and improving livelihoods, and called on the banks to improve their outreach and loan disbursement mechanisms in Odisha.
The Chief Minister noted that the involvement of ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank, and Axis Bank is crucial to the successful delivery of central and state welfare programs, but their limited engagement has raised serious concerns. He encouraged them to ensure that eligible beneficiaries are not left out of financial inclusion efforts.
Responding to the Chief Minister’s appeal, officials from all three banks acknowledged the concerns and expressed their willingness to improve. They assured the state government that measures would be taken to enhance performance and expand credit coverage in the coming months.
During the meeting, the Chief Minister’s Principal Secretary Shashwat Mishra presented a detailed analysis of the banks’ current performance and highlighted areas requiring urgent improvement. The bank representatives included top executives: Munish Sarada, Anil Agrawal, and Saurabh Dutta from Axis Bank; Smita Bhagat, Sandeep Kumar, and Deepak Singh from HDFC Bank; and Sumit Mehrotra, Binod L., and Amiya Nayak from ICICI Bank.
