Bhubaneswar, Jan 7 (Reporter) Credit to agriculture, MSME, and Mission Shakti Groups which are a prerequisite for building a strong economy, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik said. Awarding the best-performing banks for providing credit to the core sector in the state at a function here on Saturday,Patnaik said he gives utmost priority to the three fundamental pillars of our economy: agriculture, MSMEs, and Mission Shakti Groups. The budgetary provisions for these sectors have been substantially increased, and Odisha is also providing interest Subvention to reduce the interest burden on the people, he said. Patnaik said adequate availability of credit to core sectors like agriculture, allied sectors, MSMEs, and women SHGs is a prerequisite to building up an economy with a strong foundation. Underscoring the importance of women's self-help groups, he said Mission Shakti Groups of the State have immensely contributed towards strengthening the rural economy. The government, the Chief Minister said, is providing them with interest subvention up to Rs five lakhs. Through the Mission Shakti Scooter Yojana, they are empowered to market their products and expand their business. He urged all banks to come forward for this noble cause and help them get transformed into SMEs. The Chief Minister congratulated all the award-winning banks and hoped that these banks would be an inspiration for other banks to enhance credit disbursement to these priority sectors. Odisha, he said, has fixed an ambitious annual credit plan target of Rs 1.60 lakh crore in the current financial year and expressed confidence that all districts and banks will work closely to achieve the ACP target and fulfill the aspirations of the people of Odisha. Patnaik claimed that Odisha has created a new milestone by achieving a 100 percent target under the annual credit plan of Rs 1,35,000 crore for the first time in the financial year 2022–23 and urged the banks to continue this momentum. Speaking on the occasion, Finance Minister Bikram Keshari Arukha said the state’s economy has grown faster than the national economy during the last 10 years. He said besides the CM’s award, the Finance Department will also issue appreciation certificates to 270 bank branches for their good performance under the three categories of priority sector lending. The Champion Banks for these 3 core sectors received Rs 5 lakh for the first prize, Rs 3 lakh for second prize, and Rs 2 lakh for third prize. In the farm sector lending, the SBI Jaipatna ADB branch Kalahandi received the first prize, Axis Bank Berhampur branch received the second prize, and SBI Semiliguda branch Koraput received the third prize. For MSME lending, Bank of India Jayadev Vihar Branch Khurda received the first prize, PNB Balasore branch received the second prize, and UCO Bank Jaypore branch received the third prize. For lending to women SHGs, UCO Bank Bhogarai Balasore received the first prize, SBI Salepur ADB Cuttack received the second prize, and SBI Sadheipalli Sundergarh received the third prize. Besides being the best performing banks, the Odisha State Cooperative Bank for agriculture, SBI for MSME, and Odisha Gramya Bank for Women SHGs were felicitated by the Chief Minister for the years 2022–23. Similarly, for the years 2021–22, Khurda for agriculture, Cuttack for MSME, and Balasore for WSHGs were felicitated as the best performing districts...////...