📄 Abstract
The mergers of Regional Rural Banks (RRBs) in Odisha have been done to make the financial system more stable, efficient, better credit provision in rural areas and tackle the issue of Non-Performing Assets (NPAs). The present study aims to examine the problems, opportunities and the impact of mergers in the context of NPA management in the RRBs of Odisha from multi dimensional perspective. The financial parameters before and after mergers of RRB Banks in Odisha have been analyzed with parameters like Gross NPA Ratio, Net NPA Ratio, Credit to Deposit Ratio, profitability, efficiency and branch productivity. The secondary data was obtained from the annual reports, NABARD publications, RBI publications, and government publications for the year 2016-2025. The research design adopted in this study was quantitative research design while the statistical tools used for analysis include percentage analysis, trend analysis, comparative analysis, correlation and regression technique. The results have clearly shown how merger activities have greatly impacted the effectiveness of coordination and integration of administrative, technological, and resource functions as well as risk monitoring. In the pre-post merger stage, the Gross NPA of selected RRBs decreased from 11.8% to 7.1% and operational efficiency increased by 18.6%. Post-merger obstacles, such as reluctance among employees, integration problems, uneven distribution in branch functions across regions, inadequate skilled labor force, and poor technological integration, emerged. Some problems associated with borrowers persisted over the period of study, notably financial literacy, repayment behaviour, and other issues. The study reveals that banking mergers have contributed significantly to the financial performance and sustainability of RRBs in Odisha, especially in the rural areas. Future studies recommendations could be further improvement to credit appraisal systems, use of Artificial Intelligence to predict NPAs, enhancement of staff capacity building programs, and customer education programmes.
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📚 How to Cite:
Sudhansu Sekhar Panda , Dr Biswo Ranjan Mishra , IMPACT OF MERGERS ON NPA MANAGEMENT, OPERATIONAL CHALLENGES, AND FUTURE PROSPECTS OF REGIONAL RURAL BANKS IN ODISHA: A MULTIDIMENSIONAL ANALYSIS , Volume 11 , Issue 8, August 2026, EPRA International Journal of Research & Development (IJRD) , Pages: 70 - 79 , DOI: https://doi.org/10.36713/epra28609