Odisha govt makes volte face on warning against bank deposits

Bhubaneswar: After issuing a directive to departments against making deposits with banks, Odisha government has clarified that it does not have any view on the fiscal health of any particular bank.

Earlier, on October 21, Principal Secretary of Finance Department AKK Meena had asked the departments, PSUs or State agencies to be very careful while keeping deposits in any bank and proper enquiry must be done about the financial health of the concerned bank for making any deposit.

However, Meena shot another letter to the departments on October 25 saying that there is no reason for anyone to get apprehensive about the financial health of the banks.

“The Finance department has empanelled certain banks for transactions based on bank’s performance with the State for carrying out business with government agencies only. The circular dated October 21, 2019 was only meant to avoid opening of new accounts and shifting of government funds meant for welfare and developmental activities of government without any reason from one bank to another,” the letter read.