Odisha is a lead State in cent percent utilisation of the Rural Infrastructure Development Funds (RIDF), said NABARD Chairman Dr GR Chintala during an interactive session between the State Government and the NABARD held under the chairmanship of Chief Secretary SC Mahaptra here on Thursday wherein Development Commissioner Pradeep Jena outlined the issues for discussion. Dr Chintala added, “Odisha grew to a place of big industrial and business activities during the last decade.”The Chief Secretary said, “Odisha has achieved the highest poverty reduction of 24per cent in last decade resulting in liberation of around 8 million people from poverty net.”
He added that the State became No. 1 in investment implementation rate as per an ASSOCHAM-2017 report. Odisha is now one among the three top investment destinations in the country. Hundred per cent of the villages have been electrified.
The NABARD was urged to enhance its loan assistance to the State to a total of Rs 10,000 crore under different schemes like RIDF, Rural Infrastructure Assistance to States (RIAS), Long-term Irrigation Fund (LITF), financial inclusion, diary entrepreneurship development, agricultural marketing infrastructure.
In his response, Dr Chintala said, “As State has a strongly-motivated administrative machinery and a robust mechanism for project implementation, NABARD will do best in enhancing its involvement with State.” The NABARD has enhanced its RIDF loan from around Rs 2,500 crore in 2016-17 to Rs 3,000 crore in current financial year.