The Odisha government, on Saturday, issued an official directive, withdrawing the restrictions on three private banks and allowing them to handle the business and deposits of the state government and its supported organisations.
Earlier on June 21, the state government had removed these three private banks – HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, and Axis Bank – from the list of empanelled banks due to their ‘persisting poor performance’ in handling some state-run schemes over the last two financial years and on the basis of general banking parameters.
However, the decision to withdraw the restrictions came after senior representatives from the three banks met with Chief Minister Mohan Majhi on July 1.
Finance Dept has reinstated HDFC, ICICI & Axis Bank as empanelled banks to handle govt business.
Earlier de-empanelment withdrawn after banks gave written assurance to improve performance in govt schemes.#OdishaGovt #HDFC #ICICIBank #AxisBank pic.twitter.com/80yYNkdhsC
— Industry Odisha (@industryodishaa) July 5, 2025
During this meeting, the bank officials provided written assurances to significantly improve their performance, particularly in priority sector lending and their credit-to-deposit ratio, according to the official order.
“In view of this, the state government has now decided to withdraw its earlier order dated June 21. As a result, these 3 banks will now continue as empanelled banks eligible to handle business and deposits of state government organisations,” it said.
