The National Banka for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) on July 13 announced Rs. 5,000 crores of refinance scheme for the financial institutions and banks in order to provide finance to the beneficiaries of its 2,150 watershed development projects.
The financial institution also designated another Rs. 5,000 crores for turning Primary Agriculture Credit Societies (PACS) into multi-service centres. PACS are the building blocks of the country’s cooperative banking structure.
NABARD made the announcement in its first ‘Digital Choupal’ which was organised to mark its 39th Foundation day. Through the video conference, participants of different projects that are initiated by NABARD shared their experiences about the projects they are involved in.
Support to the watershed projects:
As per the press release, concessional bank refinances to the tune of Rs. 5,000 crore has been made available to the banks and financial institutions for lending the beneficiaries in 2150 watershed development projects of the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD).
The projects cover 2.3 million hectares of the watershed, rainfed area, and tribal development project areas. The move of refinancing will boost the offtake of economic activities in areas grappling with reverse migration.
NABARD also informed that the concessional line of assistance will be available for three years, that is, from 2020-2021 to 2022-2023.
NABARD’s Scheme for Primary Agriculture Credit Societies:
The development finance institution also a grant-based scheme for the computerisation of the Primary Agriculture Credit Societies (PACS). The scheme will enable these ground-level entities to provide seamless credit services to their farmer members.
NABARD has earmarked Rs. 5,000 crores during the financial year 2021 for turning the PACS into multi-service centres. It will be a one-stop-shop for meeting the varied needs of the farmers.
Around 5000 PACS will be upgraded in 2020, 15000 PACS in 2022, and 15000 in 2023. As per NABARD’s newly appointed Chairman, PACS can provide support to the farmers in post-harvest and marketing activities. In will also play a key role in the financial and physical supply chain of commodities by acting as spokes entity to the upcoming Gramin Agriculture Markets (GrAMs).
He also added that the upgraded PACS can be the vehicle for creating investment opportunities for the rural youth in agriculture. It will also include those who are impacted by the reverse migration amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
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