Apex development bank of India, NABARD on Tuesday unveiled credit report for Jharkhand projecting a potential jump of Rs1000 crore in the credit needs of various sectors in 2016-17.
The State focus paper would also guide policy makers and financial institutions to help various sectors achieve new targets of growth in financial year 2016-17 through credit disbursement mechanism and policy measures.
The report based on the theme of ‘accelerating the pace of capital formation in agriculture and allied sector’ also enumerated steps needed to reform each sector to write new chapters of growth in the next financial year. The report was released by Agriculture Minister, Randhir Kumar Singh who later on requested NABARD to play a proactive role in credit disbursement matters and also stressed upon the need for a greater coope ration between State Government and the development bank.
“State Government would take more assistance of NABARD in coming days. State Government is now more focused on rural participation in project planning so I would also request NABARD to take note of rural issues such as water conservation in rural areas,” Singh said, adding, “loan amount for farmers is very low which needs to be increased a bit more”.
The Agriculture Minister also informed the bank that agriculture and allied activities have moved up the list of government’s priorities thus allowing the department to present separate budget for the sector in the next financial year. The NABARD’s report projects 6.32 per cent (Rs18,674.80-crore) increase in credit requirements in eight sectors in 2016-17 over 2015-16 projections (Rs 17,565.04-crore) with the projected credit requirements for agriculture and allied activities forming the major chunk (9.16 per cent) of the pie in the next financial year.
The report draws attention to gaps in 15 agricultural and industrial activities that needed to be plugged with targeted interventions. The report compiled by the development bank suggested action plans in the areas of crop production & marketing; water resources; land development; plantation & horticulture including sericulture; animal husbandry; fisheries; storage & market yards; food & agro processing; micro small enterprises; export credit; education; housing; renewable energy and social infrastructure. Even as the credit projection report emphasizes on collaboration with NCDEX and convergence with government initiatives such as ‘Smart Village’ and ‘Adarsh Gram Yojna’, Development Commissioner, RS
Poddar pressed for integration of NABARD’s findings with the ambitious rural project planning initiative- ‘Yojna Banao Abhiyan’.
“The State focus paper should be integrated with the perspective plans being prepared in the ‘Yojna Banao Abhiyan’ and the needs reflected in the abhiyan should be incorporated in the report,” added Poddar.
The State focus paper presents detailed information of the ground realities in agriculture sector and the potential that these sectors present to financial institutions in terms of credit disbursement and policy formulation.
“This document analyses necessity of infrastructure development and backward-forward linkages potential for banks so that appropriate policy decisions could be taken with its help,” said Chief General Manager of NABARD, S Mondal.