In a bid to ensure a smooth flow of loans to micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), Chief Minister Navin Patnaik-led Odisha Government has asked State Level Banking Committee (SLBC) to come up with a credit plan.

The Chief Secretary and Chief Development Commissioner of State Government A P Padhi directed officials to facilitate loans as well as allot lands to entrepreneurs to boost employment opportunities in the state.

Padhi has instructed the banking committee to prepare the credit plan within a time-frame of two weeks. Similarly, the Chief Secretary has also instructed the Industrial Infrastructure Development Corporation (IDCO) to house MSME units in the state. He asked the corporation to identify 100 acres of land in Kalinga Nagar Industrial Cluster.

Additional Chief Secretary (MSME) L N Gupta informed that over 12.28 lakh employment opportunities have been created in the sector in 2016-17. The major distribution of the units is in food processing, chemical, electrical and electronics, metal engineering, wooden, glass and ceramic.

“About Rs 14,206 crore has been invested in the MSME sector by June this year while creating employment opportunities for over 12,28,309 people,” said Gupta.

The Additional Chief Secretary added that 21,935 units have been set up at an investment of Rs 491 crore under Prime Minister’s Employment Generation Programme (PMEGP), which has created employment opportunities for 1.74 lakh people.