The National Bank for Rural and Agricultural Development (Nabard) on Tuesday unveiled a potential linked credit plan' for Maharashtra. Under the plan, an approximate credit of Rs 57,147 crore will flow into the state's priority sector in 2011-12. The amount is about 25 per cent higher than Rs 27,389 crore estimated for the current year, 2010-11. The estimates form part of a state focus paper for Maharashtra for the year which Nabard executive director Prakash Bakshi released in a state credit seminar at the College of Agriculture of the Reserve Bank of India on Tuesday. Bakshi said the secondary and tertiary sectors in the state as elsewhere are growing faster in rural areas and so banks should do well to understand the peculiarities of this sector to make the allocation for it realistic. He stressed upon the need to increase the term lending part of farm loans as it is meant for purchase of equipments and technology that will increase farm productivity. This, he said can be achieved by expanding the network of joint liability groups of farmers which will be the principal borrowers of agricultural equipment and rent them out to members.
State commissioner for agriculture Prabhakar Deshmukh said the credit plan should take into consideration the different initiatives undertaken in rural areas such as watershed development to assess the changing needs of the farming community in these areas. Deshmukh also said it was necessary to encourage farm mechanisation through financing schemes to improve output. Rajgopal Devara, state commissioner for co-operation, said changes in crop patterns in different districts should reflect in the credit estimation for them. This will be important to enhance contribution of the farm sector to the growth of national gross domestic product, he said. Efficient and appropriate credit delivery will help achieve the 4.5 per cent growth of the agriculture sector, as envisaged by the planners, he said. Devara also expressed concerns over shortfall in the target for financial inclusion of the state's unbanked villages and pointed out to regional disparities in the state. He urged the banks to step up their credit allocation and delivery to the agriculture sector and not stick to the target levels determined by the Reserve Bank.
State commissioner for agriculture Prabhakar Deshmukh said the credit plan should take into consideration the different initiatives undertaken in rural areas such as watershed development to assess the changing needs of the farming community in these areas. Deshmukh also said it was necessary to encourage farm mechanisation through financing schemes to improve output. Rajgopal Devara, state commissioner for co-operation, said changes in crop patterns in different districts should reflect in the credit estimation for them. This will be important to enhance contribution of the farm sector to the growth of national gross domestic product, he said. Efficient and appropriate credit delivery will help achieve the 4.5 per cent growth of the agriculture sector, as envisaged by the planners, he said. Devara also expressed concerns over shortfall in the target for financial inclusion of the state's unbanked villages and pointed out to regional disparities in the state. He urged the banks to step up their credit allocation and delivery to the agriculture sector and not stick to the target levels determined by the Reserve Bank.
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