Bhubaneswar: Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi Thursday urged the Centre to encourage banks at the apex level to open brick-and-mortar branches in unbanked gram panchayats (GPs) across Odisha.
Speaking at the 27th Eastern Zonal Council (EZC) meeting, chaired by Union Home Minister Amit Shah, in Ranchi, Majhi said, “I urge the Union government to take the necessary steps to address internet connectivity issues and encourage banks to open their brick-and-mortar branches in unbanked GPs in the state.” He further recommended that commercial banks increase both the fixed and variable components of commission paid to business correspondents (BCs) to curb their attrition rate. The CM highlighted that out of the 6,794 GPs in Odisha, only 2,421 currently have brick-and-mortar bank branches, leaving 4,373 GPs without such access. He noted that the geographical reach of banks in the state remains limited. As of December 31, 2024, a total of 42,035 fixed-point BCs were operating in Odisha.
However, these BCs face high attrition rates and limitations in service delivery and cash handling. “Network issues continue to hinder their operations in remote areas. Moreover, banks do not follow uniform guidelines regarding the services offered or commissions paid to BCs,” Majhi pointed out. He also informed that India Post Payments Bank (IPPB) has only 33 branches and 8,929 access points in Odisha, which are still insufficient to cover all unbanked GPs.
To bridge the gap, Majhi said the state government, in collaboration with six public sector banks, has launched a scheme to provide banking services to all unbanked GPs through CSP Plus banking outlets. Later in the day, the CM announced that next year’s EZC meeting will be held in Puri.
