The Eknath Shinde government on Thursday approved Maharashtra State Cooperative Bank, Mumbai for handling banking transactions of government offices and for holding funds for state public sector undertakings.

The state cooperative bank plays a significant role in the cooperative sector, and this decision was taken to make the bank more efficient and to increase its rural outreach, an official statement said. The Maharashtra government on Thursday allowed its offices to carry out transactions with the Maharashtra State Cooperative Bank, the statement said.