Punjab National Bank (PNB), the second largest public sector bank in the country has proposed to set up a Farmers’ Training Centre (FTC) in south Orissa’s Ganjam district.
The Orissa government has decided to provide seven acres of land to the bank near Karapalli under Rangeilunda block, about 20 km from here for the proposed centre. The centre is expected to be functional within a year.
“We have already deposited the annual ground rent of about Rs 60,600 for the land and Rs 46,200 towards cess of the land”, said BP Sharma, zonal manager (Orissa) of PNB. An agreement is to be signed between the district administration and the bank authorities before taking possession of land.
The agreement is likely to be signed after the completion of the election process, Sharma told Business Standard. It may be noted that while the voting for the Lok Sabha and assembly elections in the state are over, the counting of votes was scheduled for May 16.
The FTC to be set up by the Farmer’s Welfare Trust of PNB would provide training to the farmers on different aspects. Initially, around 40 farmers would be given training along with free lodging and boarding.
The FTC would offer training not only to the farmers of Ganjam but also to the farmers across the state, he said.
The resource persons for the centre would be drawn from the Orissa University of Agriculture and Technology (OUAT), Bhubaneswar. Besides, PNB’s own employees would also be engaged for training the farmers.
“The proposed FTC of Orissa would be the first of its kind in Orissa and the ninth in the country. The bank has already set up eight FTCs in different states across the country and has got very good response from the farmers being trained at these centres”, claimed Sharma.
The nationalised bank has already set up the FTCs in states like Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Madhya Pradesh. All these centres were being set up with the active cooperation of the respective state governments.
