Official Gazette Notification Text
Official TranscriptGOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF FINANCE DEPARTMENT OF FINANCIAL SERVICES LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 1250 ANSWERED ON MONDAY, DECEMBER 8, 2025/AGRAHAYANA 17, 1947 (SAKA) Opening of New Bank Branches in Bargarh and Jharsuguda Districts of Odisha 1250 SHRI PRADEEP PUROHIT: Will the Minister of FINANCE be pleased to state: (a) whether the Government is aware of the need for opening new branches...
GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF FINANCE DEPARTMENT OF FINANCIAL SERVICES LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 1250 ANSWERED ON MONDAY, DECEMBER 8, 2025/AGRAHAYANA 17, 1947 (SAKA) Opening of New Bank Branches in Bargarh and Jharsuguda Districts of Odisha 1250 SHRI PRADEEP PUROHIT:
Will the Minister of FINANCE be pleased to state:
(a) whether the Government is aware of the need for opening new branches of public sector banks in various underserved areas of Bargarh and Jharsuguda districts in Odisha, if so, the details thereof;
(b) whether any proposal has been received from the concerned authorities for opening new bank branches in these two districts and, if so, the details thereof, district-wise and bank-wise;
(c) if not, whether the Government proposes to consider opening new bank branches in Bargarh and Jharsuguda districts in the near future to improve financial inclusion and access to banking facilities, if so, the details thereof; and
(d) the steps being taken by the Government to ensure adequate banking infrastructure in rural and semi-urban areas of Odisha? ANSWER THE MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF FINANCE (SHRI PANKAJ CHAUDHARY) (a to d) Endeavour of the Government is to ensure availability of banking outlet (Bank branch / BC / India Post Payments Bank) within 5 kilometres of all inhabited villages in the country. Availability of banking outlets is monitored by a Geographic Information System (GIS) based App., namely, Jan Dhan Darshak (JDD) App. Based on the data uploaded by Banks on the JDD App, as on
31.10.2025, 99.91% villages in the country are covered with banking outlets (Bank Branch / BC / IPPB) within a radius of 5 Km. As per JDD app, as on 31.10.2025, all the inhabited villages of Bargarh and Jharsuguda Districts of Odisha are covered by a Banking Outlet within 5 Km radius.
Moreover, as per the extant RBI guidelines, rolling out of banking outlets in uncovered areas is a continuous process looked after by the State Level Bankers’ Committee (SLBC)/ Union Territory Level Bankers Committee (UTLBC), in consultation with the concerned State Government, member banks and other stakeholders. Banks, inter-alia, consider proposals for opening banking outlets in the light of RBI’s instructions, their business plans and their commercial viability. To further assess the viability for opening a banking outlet, banks carry out survey as required. The data for such proposals is not maintained centrally.Further, based on the data uploaded by Banks on Jan Dhan Darshak (JDD) App, the progress of banking infrastructure in Bargarh and Jharsuguda Districts of Odisha, including the state of
Odisha state is as under:
Bargarh District:
As on Date Branch BCs ATM IPPB Mar-2023 189 841 181 224 Mar-2024 203 1,183 184 283 Mar-2025 206 1,357 180 280 Oct-2025 212 1,393 186 281
Jharsuguda District:
As on Date Branch BCs ATM IPPB Mar-2023 109 188 142 87 Mar-2024 112 274 144 92 Mar-2025 112 319 140 92 Oct-2025 113 342 140 92
Odisha State:
As on Date Branch BCs ATM IPPB Mar-2023 5,890 18,871 7,070 7,150 Mar-2024 6,155 29,324 7,149 8,964 Mar-2025 6,349 34,468 7,030 8,976 Oct-2025 6,411 36,081 7,187 9,051 ******