Nabard to extend assistance of about Rs 2,500 cr this fiscal

KOLKATA: The state government is expecting an assistance of Rs 2,500 crore from the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (Nabard) under Rural Infrastructure Development Fund (RIDF) in the ongoing financial year.

Speaking at the 41st foundation day of Nabard in Kolkata on Wednesday, Manoj Pant, state Additional Chief Secretary Finance said that Nabard has provided around Rs 1,800 to Rs 2,000 crore under RIDF in the previous financial year. He maintained that the assistance is expected to increase further this fiscal and is expected to go upto Rs 2,500 crore.

According to Pant, the state is leveraging on technology to raise agricultural productivity. “The performance of the farmers’ producer organisations (FPOs) and the SelfHelp-Groups (SHGs) had been satisfactory. Nabard can play an

important role as it can help in creating forward and backward linkages,” he said.

He maintained that marketing of products is one of the major challenges and stressed upon handholding of the FPOs and SHGs . He further said that Srishtishree- the urban haat for handcrafted products of rural Bengal and Sabala Mela have been the major initiative by the state government in marketing of products. Presently, 19 state departments are working

closely with the Nabard which provides assistance in development of rural infrastructure.

Chief general manager of Nabard AR Khan said that Nabard asserted that there would be a growth of 15-6 per cent of assistance this year.

Last fiscal, Nabard had refinanced Rs 750 crore to the microfinance institutions in the state, where it has also collaborated with the IIT Kharagpur for incubating startups in the agriculture sector, Khan said.