The Indian government has understood the value of institutional credit in promoting the rural economy since its earliest planning phases. In order to examine these crucial factors, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), at the Government of India’s request, established the Committee to Review the Arrangements for Institutional Credit for Agriculture and Rural Development (CRAFICARD). Its suggestion was the establishment of a special development financial institution to satisfy these ambitions, and the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (Nabard Scheme) was created after Act 61 of 1981 was passed by the Parliament.
Financing options are available from the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) with interest rates beginning at 4.5 per cent p.a. They provide direct loans in addition to short- and long-term refinancing. Refinancing terms might last anywhere from 18 months to more than 5 years.
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About Nabard Scheme 2024
The National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development is known by its full name. The National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) is an Indian development finance agency that oversees credit-related issues for agricultural and rural ventures, including planning, policy, and operations. Nabard Scheme is a funder of rural development and activities connected to agriculture. The expansion and improvement of rural communities nationally is its main area of attention. The three major focuses of NABARD’s activity are financing, development, and oversight of the agricultural industry. The Ministry of Finance has authority over this entity.
NABARD currently has openings for the following positions:
- 148 openings for assistant managers in the rural development banking service
- Manager (Rural Development Banking Service) in Grade B: 7 positions
- 5 jobs for Assistant Manager in Grade A (Rajbhasha Service).
- 2 positions for an assistant manager in grade A (protocol and security service)
Objective of Nabard Scheme 2024
Agriculture lender NABARD offers specialised programmes like the Dairy Entrepreneurship Development Scheme to promote the agricultural industry. This program assists dairy market entrepreneurs in establishing dairy farms and spur future expansion by providing them with business assistance. The funding of any agricultural endeavours related to rural development in India is handled by NABARD, whose main objective is the expansion of rural India as a whole.
Some objectives of the NABARD Scheme for the Farming Sector:
- Increasing the number of milk-producing farms in the current era.
- Modern technological advancements boost milk production and advertise it on a large scale.
- Fostering independent work and upgrading the infrastructure.
- Preserving breeding stock and promoting the raising of heifer calves.
Key Highlights of Nabard Scheme 2024
| Introduced By | Government of India |
| Name of Scheme | Nabard Scheme 2024 |
| Objective | Growth of the food processing industry |
| Benefits | Financing options are available from NABARD with interest rates beginning at 4.5 percent p.a. |
| Eligibility Criteria | Resident of India |
| Beneficiaries | Rural area peoples |
| Official Website | Official Website |
Benefits and Features of Nabard Scheme
The NABARD lending programme has the following aspects:
- Assisting with fundraising or refinancing.
- Expanding the rural communities’ infrastructure in India
- Creating credit schemes that are accessible to these communities at the district level.
- Providing direction and assistance to the banking industry so that it may reach its own credit goals for the year.
- Carrying out regional rural banks’ (RRBs) and cooperative banks’ (CBs) supervision in India.
- Creating fresh initiatives to promote rural development throughout the nation.
- Implementing any of the government’s development plans aimed at promoting rural growth.
- Providing training services for craftsmen in the craft.
Eligibility Criteria
The applicant who wants to apply under Nabard should fulfil the following eligibility criteria:
- An applicant should be a permanent resident of India.
- The candidate must belong to a rural area or have a farming or dairy background to avail of the benefits of the scheme.
Functions of Nabard Scheme 2024
- The NABARD programme intends to finance India’s rural infrastructure so that long-term irrigation techniques are possible.
- Mostly providing financial services and assistance to enhance and develop rural India.
- Planning, executing and overseeing any funding initiatives for agriculture and farming.
- Provide a range of financial services for the construction and expansion of food parks and processing facilities in specific locations.
- Provides its clients with both long- and short-term refinancing servicing. It offers Indian cooperative banks any direct refinancing services concurrently.
- Providing remote warehouses with financial services, cold chain, and storage facilities.
- The NABARD programme offers financing facilities to marketing federations.
- Establishing fresh regulations for rural financial institutions in India.
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Types of Nabard Scheme Loans
1. Short Term Loans
These are crop-focused NABARD loans that different financial institutions are providing to farmers in order to restructure agricultural output. This loan ensures the food security of farmers and the rural populations around them. As of FY17-18, the NABARD plan has approved 55,000 Crores to a variety of financial institutions as the short term credit loan amount while agro-operations are seasonal.
2. Long-Term Debt
Numerous financial organisations provide these loans, which can be used for agricultural or non-agricultural purposes. They have a significantly longer period, from 18 months to a maximum of 5 years, than short-term loans. Nearly 65,240 crores in financial institutions were refinanced by NABARD as of FY17–18, including 15,000 crores in concessional refinancing for Indian Regional Rural Banks (RRBs) and Cooperative Banks.
3. Rural Infrastructure Development Fund, or RIDF
Due to a lack of financing to priority industries that require assistance for their rural growth, RBI created the RIDF as part of the NABARD programme. A total loan amount of $24.993 billion was disbursed in FY17–18, with the construction of rural infrastructure receiving the majority of the funds.
4. “Long-Term Irrigation Fund,” or LTIF
This was launched as a component of the NABARD loans, which disbursed a loan sum of 20,000 Crores to support a total of 99 irrigation projects.
5. “Pradhan Mantri Awaas Yojana-Gramin” or PMAY-G
The “National Rural Infrastructure Development Agency,” or NRIDA, received a loan of $900 billion under this financial plan to carry out its aim of providing pukka dwellings with all necessary facilities to underprivileged people by 2022.
6. Infrastructure Development Assistance from NABARD
NIDA, a subsidiary initiative of the NABARD plan, focuses on lending money to any state-owned businesses or organisations that are financially sound. As a result, NABARD also uses this programme to refinance non-private projects.
7. Infrastructure Fund for Warehouses
Scientific warehouse infrastructure for agricultural commodities is provided by the Warehouse Infrastructure Fund. NABARD offered a first loan in the sum of Rs. 5000 during the fiscal year 2013–2014. The amount disbursed as of March 31, 2018, is Rs. 4778 crore.
8. Fund for Food Processing
The Indian government has committed to lending $541 million through NABARD’s food processing fund to 11 large-scale food park projects, one integrated food park project, and three rural food processing facilities in India.
9. Direct Loans
Four state-owned cooperative banks and 58 Co-operative Commercial Banks (CCBs) dispersed across the nation will receive assistance from the NABARD scheme thanks to a loan sum of 4849 crores that has been specifically approved for cooperative banks.
10. “Credit Facility to Marketing Federations,” often known as CFF
Through the financial support of marketing federations, this type of NABARD loans encourages the commercialization of agricultural operations. As of 2018, these federations had received a total of $25,436 Crores in payments.
11. “Primary Agriculture Credit Societies” or PACS
The “Producer Organizations Development Fund,” or PODF for short, has also been introduced by NABARD. The objective is to give PACS that primarily function as “Multi Service” financial support.
Key Achivements of Nabard Scheme 2022
- Assistance with refinancing
- Rural infrastructure improvement
- Preparation of district-level credit strategies and encouragement of banks to meet these goals
- Control over cooperative banks and regional rural banks
- Creation of ethical banking practises in India’s economically underdeveloped regions
- Teaching craftsmen how to create handicrafts and providing assistance in marketing their products
- One of the most notable microfinance initiatives ever launched has been the SHG Bank Linkage Project, which was created by NABARD.
- Numerous farmers around the nation have benefited from the Kisan Credit Card, which was created by NABARD.
- One-fifth of India’s rural infrastructure is credited to NABARD for funding.
- The organisation was a leader in watershed climate proofing development.
Refinance Offerings
This includes the following categories of credit:
1. Short term refinance
To provide production credit to borrowers in the agricultural sector, NABARD’s crop loan system was established. The following categories of operations are included in this:
- NABARD offers State Cooperative Banks (SCBs) and Regional Rural Banks refinancing for short-term, seasonal agricultural activities at reduced interest rates (RRBs). In this regard, credit limitations are approved. The withdrawals made below the authorised credit limit must be paid back within twelve months.
- Others, short-term Agriculture and related activities, fisheries, marketing of crops, industrial cooperative societies (excluding weavers), labour contract and forest labour cooperative societies, rural artisans, including weavers, and the stocking, buying, and distribution of chemical fertilisers are all funded under this category.
Short-term – Weavers
The following refinance assistance is available:
- Through state coop banks or DCCBs, working capital requirements of Primary, Apex, or Regional Weavers Coop Society can be met.
- Primary Weavers Coop Society’s working capital requirements are met by Scheduled Commercial Banks.
- Through Scheduled Commercial Banks and State Cooperative Banks, the State Handloom Development Corporation can meet its working capital needs.
- Through Scheduled Commercial Banks and RRBs, individual weavers, handloom weavers’ organisations, societies outside the coop, mutually supported coop societies, and master weavers can access working finance and marketing requirements.
- Additionally, NABARD offers medium-term loan limitations to farmers that have crop loss due to natural disasters. When there is a loss of at least 33%, the short-term loans would be converted to these medium-term credit limits.
2. Permanent Refinancing
For the benefit of farmers and rural craftsmen, NABARD gives banks long- and medium-term refinancing options. This refinancing product will cover the following revenue-generating activities:
- Agriculture and related pursuits
- Small-scale businesses, independent contractors, crafters, the non-farm sector, handlooms, and power looms
- Initiatives of self-help organisations and nonprofit organisations that assist the underprivileged in rural India
- When offering refinancing, the project’s technical and financial viability are taken into account. Another need for refinancing is the institution’s credit oversight.
Eligible entities
- State-owned banks for rural development and cooperative agriculture (SCARDBs)
- Regional Rural Banks (RRBs)
- Commercial Banks (CBs)
- State Cooperative Banks (StCBs)
- District Central Cooperative Banks (DCCBs)
- North East Development Finance Corporation (NEDFC)
- State Agricultural Development Finance Companies (ADFCs)
- Scheduled Primary Urban Cooperative Banks (PUCBs)
- Non-Banking Financial Companies (NBFCs and NBFCs-MFIs)
Loan duration
- The longest loan term allowed is 15 years.
Size of the refinance
- Depending on the borrower, the location of the investment, and the loan’s purpose, refinancing will be offered for 95% to 100% of qualified bank loans.
Contact Details
- If you have any query regarding Nabard, then contact at: Give them A Call (91) 022-26539895/96/99
- Visit at Plot C-24, G Block, Bandra Kurla Complex, BKC Road, Bandra East, Mumbai, Maharashtra 400051