Odisha govt, SBI sign agreement to provide banking service through SHGs

Bhubaneswar: The Odisha Livelihood Mission (OLM)on Monday signed an agreement with the State Bank of India (SBI) to provide banking services through Self Help Groups (SHGs).

The agreement was signed between OLM and SBI in presence of chief secretary Aditya Prasad Padhi and Managing Director of SBI Rajnish Kumar.

Padhi said around 70% of the gram panchayats (GPs) in Odisha do not have brick and mortar bank branches.

“Carrying the banking services to people in these remote areas has always been a concern of the government. This agreement would go a long way in extending basic banking services to people in those areas,” said Padhi.

Panchayati Raj secretary Deo Ranjan Singh said that OLM would function as Corporate Agent and around three lakh SHGs operating under OLM would be the Banking Correspondents (BC).

In the first phase, SHGs would be engaged as BCs in around 1000 remote GPs in scheduled areas having no banking facilities. Gradually, it would be extended to 4000 non-banking GPs. Later, it would be extended to the entire state as a supplement to the banking service.