NABARD’S LOANS RISE 25% TO HIT `6 L CR IN FY21
New Delhi, Aug. 22: The total loans and advances extended by Nabard during 2020-21 registered a growth of 25.2 per cent year-on-year to reach Rs 6 lakh crore, with half of it going into production and investment, the bank said in its annual report.
The report said Nabard earned Rs 34,671.2 crore income during 2020-21, or a 6.1 per cent increase over the preceding year. Its profit before tax in 2020-21 was Rs 6,081.4 crore, against Rs 5,234.3 crore in the year-ago period. The profit after tax was Rs 4,320 crore compared with Rs 3,859.2 crore in 2019-20.
The National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (Nabard) also said its balance sheet size reached Rs 6.57 lakh crore as on March 31, 2021, most of which is on account of non-idle (earning) assets that, in turn, helped create private and public investments at the ground level.
"We achieved a record year-on-year growth of 24 per cent in our total assets and similar impressive growth in loan portfolio," Nabard chairman G. R. Chintala said in the annual report.
He noted that because of the government's Aatmanirbhar Bharat package and hardworking farmers, the agricultural sector recorded a growth of 3.6 per cent last year and is likely to repeat the performance in the current financial year also.
Agricultural credit outstanding grew at 12.3 per cent in 2020-21, the highest across all sectors.
"This gives us confidence to meet the target of Rs 16.5 lakh crore rural credit flow set by the Union Budget 2022, as the monsoon during current year is also expected to be normal," Chintala said.