OREANDA-NEWS. February 16, 2012. The Central Board of Directors of the Reserve Bank of India met today at Bhubaneswar. Dr. D. Subbarao, Governor, Reserve Bank of India chaired the meeting. Directors Shri Dr. Anil Kakodkar, Shri M.V.Rajeev Gowda, Shri Y.H.Malegam, Shri Dipankar Gupta, Shri G. M. Rao, Ms. Ela Bhatt, Dr. Indira Rajaraman and Dr. Najeeb Jung attended the meeting. Deputy Governors Dr. K.C.Chakrabarty, Dr. Subir Gokarn, Shri Anand Sinha and Shri Harun R. Khan were also present.

The Central Board meets at least once every quarter. Apart from holding meetings in Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata and one in New Delhi after the Union Budget which is addressed by the Finance Minister, the rest of the meetings are held in other state capitals by rotation. The main function of the Central Board of Directors of the Reserve Bank is to provide overall direction to the Reserve Bank’s affairs.

Earlier, the Governor met the Chief Minister Shri Naveen Patnaik and discussed issues relating to growth and development of the state. The Governor also met local bankers and State Government officials and discussed issues relating to:

Opening of additional bank branches by the commercial banks in the rural area;

Progress in Financial Inclusion plan and delivery of assistance under the beneficiaries oriented programmes through electronic benefit transfer (EBT) mechanism;

Credit support to agriculture and allied sector by the commercial banks;

Financing of micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs);

SHG-Bank linkage programme;

Recovery Climate;

the Organisational aspects of Rural Self Employment Training Institutes (RSETIs) and Financial Literacy and Credit Counseling centres (FLCCs); and

Licensing of District Co-operative Credit Banks (DCCBs).

On the evening of February 15, 2012, the Chief Minister Shri Naveen Patnaik graced the function as Chief Guest, organised at the Reserve Bank’s Baramunda Colony, Bhubaneswar to celebrate the Golden Jubilee Year of the Bhubaneswar Office. Dr. D. Subbarao, Governor presided over the function. A souvenir was released on the occasion.

About Bhubaneswar Office

Beginning with a lone Agricultural Credit Department of the Reserve Bank in 1962 in a rented house on Lewis Road, Bhubaneswar, completed its 50 years of existence in the state of Odisha. With the opening of new departments, the Bhubaneswar Office moved from Lewis Road to Bapuji Nagar in 1965 and from Bapuji Nagar to Station square in 1969. The Office shifted to the State Co-operative Bank Building and State Archives Building in 1972 when the office started to operate as a full-fledged Regional Office of the Reserve Bank of India. The Office shifted to the new and the present premises in Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru Marg in 1982.