Daijiworld Media Network – Panaji

Panaji, May 15: Chief Minister Pramod Sawant on Thursday stressed the need to improve Goa’s credit-deposit (CD) ratio and strengthen financial literacy across the state, particularly among educated professionals and students.

Addressing the 133rd State Level Bankers’ Committee meeting, Sawant said Goa’s CD ratio had improved from 34.17 per cent in December 2025 to 34.62 per cent in March 2026.

“The improvement is encouraging, but we want to improve it further,” said Sawant, who also holds the finance portfolio.

The chief minister praised banks for achieving 91 per cent of their annual credit distribution target and noted that the rise in credit flow reflected growing entrepreneurial activity in the state.

He said Goa currently has 819 bank branches catering to a population of nearly 17 lakh people, with banking services now reaching all villages.

Sawant urged banks to strengthen last-mile banking services and focus more on supporting MSMEs, women entrepreneurs, youth-led startups, green financing, and digital banking initiatives.

Expressing concern over increasing cyber frauds and digital banking-related risks, the chief minister highlighted the need for wider financial literacy programmes.

“Even well-educated people often lack practical financial literacy,” he said, urging banks to organise awareness campaigns in colleges and professional institutions.

Sawant also encouraged banks to introduce more schemes promoting solar energy adoption and sustainable financing initiatives in Goa.