Govt may up its stake in Nabard to 99%

The Centre is likely to up its stake in Nabard to up to 99 per cent by acquiring the Reserve Bank's stake for Rs 1,450 crore in the current year, a top Nabard official said.

The Reserve Bank holds 72.5 per cent in the National Bank of Agriculture and Rural Development (Nabard) while the remaining is with the Government.

"The Government might have a 99 per cent shareholding in NABARD. The RBI will still hold one per cent in the bank," the bank's Managing Director K G Karmakar told PTI on the sidelines of an event here.
    
However, the Government is awaiting approval from Parliament on the same, Karmakar said, adding that the change in stake-holding would not in any way impact the bank's regular business and functioning.
    
"It won't affect the functioning. It will be business as usual. The present 15 member Board will have 12 officials from the Government and the rest from the apex bank," he said.
    
The development is in line with the Narasimham Committee recommendations on banking sector reforms, that recommended the transfer of RBI's stake in SBI, Nabard and National Housing Bank to the Government to differentiate the central bank's role as the owner of banks and the sectoral regulator.

Following this, in 2007, the Cabinet allowed the Centre to acquire RBI's 59.73 per cent stake in the country's largest bank, SBI, for Rs 35,531.33 crore.

Nabard, the bank facilitating credit flow for promotion and development of the agriculture and rural sector, is also expecting a 20 per cent YoY growth, Karmakar said.

"The monsoon has been good this year and we expect a good Rabi and Kharif crop. With this, the credit growth will grow at 20 per cent," he said.
    
On the bank's other plans for this fiscal, Karmakar said the bank is investing Rs 3,000 crore for providing solar lamps and chargers in rural areas across the country.
    
The project, wherein the bank provides one fan point, two lights and a mobile charger worth Rs 15,000 to a family, has been launched this month in UP, Rajasthan and Karnataka and will gradually move to other states, he added.