Bhubaneswar, February 4: The National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) has hosted the State Credit Seminar 2026–27 here and released the State Focus Paper (SFP) projecting Rs 3.15 lakh crore of priority sector credit potential for Odisha in FY 2026-27. Out of the total projections, MSMEs form the largest share at Rs 1.52 lakh crore, while agriculture accounts for Rs 1.14 lakh crore, with the balance spread across housing, education, renewable energy, social infrastructure, export credit and others.

The seminar was chaired by Chief Secretary Anu Garg on Tuesday and was also attended by Finance Secretary Sanjeeb Kumar Mishra, RBI Regional Director Dr. Sarada Prasan Mohanty, SBI CGM A.D. Ratna Teja, and UCO Bank CGM and SLBC Convenor Goutam Patra.

Inaugurating the seminar, the Chief Secretary underlined the State Government’s thrust on Vision 2036 blueprint and sought support from all stakeholders to achieve the ambitious target of becoming a developed State by 2036 and a USD 1.5 trillion economy by 2047.

“Fulfilling Odisha’s Vision 2036 aspirations would take sincere efforts from one and all – the State government, public as well as private sectors. The Banks must be well prepared to provide the enhanced credit,” she said.

Underlining the challenge of “missing middle” in MSME sector, she urged the bankers to provide credit support to create greater number of small and mid-sized industries in the state.

In addition, she also called for closer collaboration between banks and line departments to speed up credit for agri-infrastructure, warehousing, off-farm ventures, and women-led SHGs.

The Regional Director, RBI, in his address, urged the banks to own up the projections prescribed in the State Focus Paper, which would subsequently translate into the Annual Credit Plan of the State.

The SBI CGM appreciated NABARD’s efforts in preparing the State Focus Paper through a consultative and bottom-up approach.

NABARD CGM V. K. Arya, opined that concerted effort is needed for increasing the credit flow to priority sector with focus on agriculture and allied sector.

“Odisha carries huge potential in credit growth in view of its vast geography, diverse agro-ecology and strong economic development in the past decade,” he said.