Nabard assistance to K'taka up 40% in FY13

'To help farmers hit by drought for two consecutive years, Nabard has extended concessional crop production finance at 4.5 per cent per annum'

The National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (Nabard), Karnataka Regional Office (KRO) has recorded an all-time high financial assistance in the state at Rs 8,424 crore during 2012-13 towards agricultural and rural development, registering a year-on-year growth of about 40 per cent.

Nabard has disbursed the highest ever investment credit support for banks to the extent of Rs 1,920 crore in the state. This will improve the much-needed capital formation for agriculture in the state, S N A Jinnah, chief general manager, Nabard, said in a statement.

"In order to help the farmers, who have been affected by the drought for two consecutive years, Nabard has extended concessional crop production finance at 4.5 per cent per annum to the extent of Rs 5,377 crore during 2012-13 to cooperative banks and RRBs," he said.

With full cooperation of the state government, Nabard has disbursed Rs 750 crore of financial assistance to the government of Karnataka for creating rural infrastructure in the state such as Raitha Samparka Kendras, anganwadis, schools in rural areas, ITIs, rural roads and bridges. In addition, Rs 326 crore has been given as a special line of credit to cooperative banks to meet the financial needs under the direct window system, he said.

He said, financial inclusion is a priority area for Nabard and Karnataka Regional Office is the first in the country to support cooperative banks and RRBs by facilitating the issuance of Rupay-compliant KCC cards by the South Canara DCCB and Pragathi Gramin Bank.

Nabard intends to create more employment in rural sector by supporting micro enterprises, artisans, crafts persons and weavers, he said.

In the coming years, Nabard Karnataka Regional Office intends to put more focus on improving income levels of farmers particularly in dry land areas, full coverage of farmers through smart Kisan Credit Cards, graduating SHGs to micro enterprises, bridging critical rural infrastructure gaps and facilitating credit plus services to artisans and weavers in the state, Jinnah added.