Bhubaneswar: The National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) has projected Odisha’s credit potential for 2025-26 fiscal at Rs 2,52,000 crore.
The projection was made in the bank’s state focus paper for the state released in Bhubaneswar Saturday during a seminar.
The credit project for 2025-26 (Rs 2,51,952 crore) is about 20 per cent higher than the previous year’s Rs 2,10,140 crore.
Inaugurating the seminar, Deputy Chief Minister Kanak Vardhan Singh Deo emphasised the need to increase bank credit for the state’s priority sectors, saying the state government has also been supporting this effort through various schemes.
“The government has been investing in infrastructure and enabling growth in the agriculture sector and banks should come forward and provide credit to ensure these economic benefits reach farmers,” he said.
He also lauded NABARD’s role in supporting self-help groups (SHGs) and its efforts to skill young women through grant-based entrepreneurship and skill development programmes.
The deputy chief minister stressed the importance of strengthening the Farmers Producer Organisation (FPO) ecosystem for socio-economic development.
He also urged bankers to finance value chains and innovative and new-age projects to drive agricultural growth and enhance farmers’ incomes.
PTI
