Daijiworld Media Network - New Delhi
New Delhi, Aug 4: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman informed the Lok Sabha on Monday that the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) has disbursed over Rs 1.59 lakh crore in loan assistance to state governments over the past three financial years (2022–23 to 2024–25) to bolster rural infrastructure.
Out of the total disbursement, Rs 1.23 lakh crore was routed through the Rural Infrastructure Development Fund (RIDF), while the remaining Rs 36,439 crore was provided under various other NABARD schemes. These include:
• NABARD Infrastructure Development Assistance (NIDA)
• Rural Infrastructure Assistance to State Governments (RIAS)
• Long Term Irrigation Fund (LTIF)
• Micro Irrigation Fund (MIF)
• Food Processing Fund (FPF)
• Warehouse Infrastructure Fund (WIF)
• Fisheries and Aquaculture Infrastructure Development Fund (FIDF)
“These investments play a pivotal role in strengthening critical rural infrastructure like roads, irrigation systems, and storage facilities,” Sitharaman stated in a written reply. She added that such infrastructure enhances productivity, expands market access, and improves the credit absorption capacity of rural borrowers.
In addition to infrastructure loans, NABARD continues to offer short- and long-term refinance to Cooperative Banks and Regional Rural Banks (RRBs) at concessional rates for agricultural lending.
Highlighting progress in financial inclusion, the Minister cited the NAFIS 2021–22 survey, which showed a rise in the percentage of agricultural households accessing institutional credit — from 60% in 2016–17 to 75% in 2021–22.
Sitharaman also announced that NABARD has supported the formation of 6,215 Farmer Producer Organisations (FPOs) under various schemes. These FPOs receive assistance in areas like credit facilitation, market linkage, capacity building, and financial literacy.
To enhance FPO outreach, NABARD, in collaboration with the Small Farmers’ Agri-Business Consortium (SFAC) and the Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC), has organised FPO Melas at 50 locations across 24 states and union territories, aimed at promoting the branding and marketing of FPO products.
The Minister further outlined key measures by the government to improve credit access for farmers, including:
• Raising the collateral-free loan limit under the Kisan Credit Card (KCC) scheme from Rs 1.6 lakh to Rs 2 lakh
• Extending the KCC scheme to cover animal husbandry and fisheries
• Offering an effective 4% interest rate on loans up to Rs 3 lakh through the Modified Interest Subvention Scheme (MISS), which includes the Prompt Repayment Incentive (PRI)
• Enhancing the loan limit under MISS from Rs 3 lakh to Rs 5 lakh in the Union Budget 2025–26
“These steps are a testament to the government’s commitment to empowering rural India through better credit access and infrastructure development,” the Finance Minister concluded.