Bhubaneswar, Sep 13: The Finance department of Odisha government signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with six public sector banks for providing banking services in all unbanked Gram Panchayats of the state through CSP Plus banking outlets.
The government entered into the MoU with SBI, PNB, Union Bank of India, UCO Bank, Bank of India and Bank of Baroda.
Out of 6798 GPs, around 65% of GPs (4373 GPs) do not have brick and mortar branches. Since banking is an essential service for financial inclusion, the government has come forward with an ambitious scheme for providing banking services to every GP through CSP Plus banking outlets.
The scheme will be implemented in a phased manner to cover all unbanked GPs of the State within the current financial year 2023-24. The government will provide rent free banking space for 5 years.
The State government will also bear one-time expenses for fixed cost and recurring expenses for a period of three years. A provision of Rs. 500 crore has been made for the scheme.
