Bhubaneswar: Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik Thursday inaugurated 2,000 CSP (Customer Service Point) plus outlets under the ‘AMA Bank’ initiative, aimed at providing banking services in all unbanked gram panchayats of the state.
The ‘AMA Bank’ programme was launched last year after it was realised that 4,373 out of the state’s total 6,789 gram panchayats lacked bank branches, causing difficulties for people to avail benefits from various schemes.
In November 2023, the state government opened 750 CSP Plus outlets, and now an additional 2,000 outlets have been launched.
Patnaik said financial inclusion is crucial for social and economic progress and the empowerment of people.
He said no country or state can achieve inclusive growth without ensuring financial inclusion for its citizens.
Delivering public services to the last mile in a fair and transparent manner has been a top priority for the government, he added.
However, financial inclusion has remained a challenge in Odisha due to the limited geographical penetration of banks, with about 65% of gram panchayats lacking brick-and-mortar bank branches, the CM said, adding that this resulted in significant challenges in accessing banking services and Direct Benefit Transfers for rural residents.
To address this issue, the state government has collaborated with six public sector banks, including SBI, PNB, UBI, UCO Bank, Bank of India, and Bank of Baroda, to implement the ‘Ama Bank’ scheme, he added.
PTI