CM Majhi Urges Centre to Push for Bank Branches in Unbanked Gram Panchayats

Bhubaneswar, July 10 : Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi on Wednesday urged the Central Government to direct apex-level banks to open brick-and-mortar branches in all unbanked Gram Panchayats (GPs) across the state.

Speaking at the 27th meeting of the Eastern Zonal Council held in Ranchi, Majhi emphasized the need to resolve internet connectivity issues in rural areas to facilitate the establishment of physical bank branches. He also called for an increase in both the fixed and variable components of commission for Business Correspondents (BCs) to curb their attrition and improve service delivery.

Highlighting Odisha’s banking infrastructure gap, Majhi said that out of the state’s 6,794 GPs, only 2,421 have traditional bank branches, leaving 4,373 GPs still unbanked. Although over 42,000 fixed-point BCs are operational in the state as of December 31, 2024, many face challenges related to network issues, cash handling, and lack of uniform guidelines from banks.

The Chief Minister further stated that India Post Payments Bank (IPPB) has a limited presence in Odisha, with only 33 branches and 8,929 access points, which are insufficient to meet the demand.

To bridge this gap, the state government, in collaboration with six public sector banks, has launched a scheme to deliver banking services in unbanked GPs through CSP Plus banking outlets. These outlets provide key services similar to a regular bank branch. So far, 2,742 CSP Plus outlets have been set up, and efforts are underway to cover the remaining 1,631 unbanked GPs.

Majhi informed the Council that Odisha is the only state in India to implement such a unique model of financial inclusion. He added that the state government is ensuring reliable electricity and internet connectivity in these GPs and is also bearing the one-time infrastructure costs and recurring expenses for the first three years of operation.