Odisha chief minister Naveen Patnaik on Tuesday launched Ama Bank (Our Bank), a scheme for providing banking services through CSP (Customer Service Point) Plus banking outlets in all the unbanked gram panchayats (GP) of the state.

Launching the scheme, Naveen said: “The CSP Plus model innovated by Odisha will become a model for the rest of the country.”

He said: “Reaching out to the people at the bottom of the pyramid and delivery of public services to the last mile in a fair and transparent manner, has been one of
the highest priority agenda of government.”

The chief minister further said: “Senior citizens, differently-abled people and pregnant women will get doorstep banking services and avail Direct Benefit Transfer in a timely and hassle-free manner. The poor rural people in Odisha will not have to travel long distances to avail the benefits under several of our schemes.”

Under the scheme, the Odisha government is committed to provide banking services to every GP through CSP outlets with an outlay of Rs 500 crore.

To provide easy banking services to the people, the state government has made collaboration with six public sector banks namely State Bank of India, Punjab National Bank, Union Bank of India, UCO Bank, Bank of India and Bank of Baroda.

Ama Bank will provide all necessary banking services like deposits, advances, remittances, loans, Aadhaar-enabled payment system, credit linkage to SHGs, coverage under social security schemes etc.

Stating that Odisha is one of the fastest growing economies in the country, finance minister Bikram Keshari Arukh said: “Odisha will be the first State in the country without having a single unbanked gram panchayat.”

Odisha has 6,798 gram panchayats, out of which 65 per cent, 4,373 gram panchayats are unbanked. The scheme will be implemented in a phased manner to cover all unbanked GPs of the state within the current financial year 2023-24.

Under this scheme, the government will provide rent-free banking space in all GPs for a period of 5 years.

In the first phase, the chief minister inaugurated 750 CSP Plus outlets covering all 30 districts of Odisha.

The state government will provide all infrastructures, including electricity and Internet, for the smooth functioning of the banking outlets.

“The state government will also bear the one-time cost of entire fixed expenses and recurring cost for initial three- years for all 4,373 banking outlets,” an official said.