"HDFC Bank is operating with 97 branches in the state at present. By the end of the financial year, there will be 121 branches in the state with addition of 24 new branches," Debashish Senapati, zonal head, Odisha, HDFC Bank, said at the launch of Secure Banking Programme. PK Jena, Regional Director, Reserve Bank of India, was present at the occasion.

The bank has opened 16 branches in unbanked locations since April, 2014. The private bank aims to cover all the 30 districts by opening branches in Boudh, Kandhamal and Nuapada districts where it does not have any presence. It also plans to open about 50 new ATMS in the state.

Under the Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana, HDFC bank has opened about 4,000 accounts in the state till now. The bank's credit-deposit ratio stood at about 72 per cent while the loan portfolio for the priority sector and farm sector were 32 per cent and 15 per cent of the total advances respectively. "Secure Banking Programme is an initiative undertaken by the bank to create customer awareness about safe banking practices. The programme will be rolled out across all 96 branches in Odisha," Senapati said. The programme comprises of a series of workshops to educate customers through presentations on the matters they need to be careful about for conducting banking transactions. This includes using a cheque, transacting at ATMs, using debit or credit cards at POS terminals, merchant outlets and online banking.

Other channels like ATM screens, mobile banking, and the HDFC Bank website will also be used to spread the message of Secure Banking to customers.