Trivandrum: NABARD has projected a credit potential of Rs 2.37 lakh crores under the priority sector to be financed by all banks in Kerala for the financial year 2024-25 at the State Credit Seminar conducted by NABARD under the Chairmanship of Chief Secretary, Dr V Venu, IAS.
Related departments attended the seminar, bankers and other stakeholders held threadbare discussions on the constraints faced in achieving the potential and arrived at several innovative solutions.
However, realization of the potential requires critical interventions in areas like Digitization of land records, Formation of cooperatives in processing, Marketing and also the Agro Industries sector, ensuring Soil Health Cards to all farmers, solutions for Man-animal conflicts, mechanization of the dairy sector, avoiding delay in licensing and clearance for MSME projects, etc.
The agriculture sector constituted 52% of the total projection for the priority sector. To boost the agriculture sector, NABARD suggested improving the adoption of technology in agriculture, usage of drones, measures to tackle man-animal conflict, uniform leasing policy for water bodies, etc. Out of the total credit potential, the MSME Sector constituted 30%.
Besides the credit outlay in the priority sectors, the State Focus Paper also discusses structural issues for development, replicable practices, infrastructure gaps, success stories and action plans for bankers and Government Departments.
In his inaugural address, the Chief Secretary lauded the role of NABARD in the development of the State by extending timely credit to the rural financial institutions, financial support at a lower rate of interest for the creation of rural infrastructure and various other developmental interventions.
Dr B Ashok, Kerala Agricultural Production Commissioner, highlighted the importance of improving the investment credit in agriculture and thereby capital formation.
Dr Gopa Kumaran Nair, CGM, NABARD-Kerala, mentioned various activities of NABARD towards providing short-term and long-term refinance to Cooperative banks and RRB. “NABARD has made its mark in widening its overall developmental spectra in the state through support of Farmer Producer Organizations (FPOs), SHGs, Climate change mitigation measures, Tribal Development programmes, Watershed Development programmes, Soil conservation measures etc.”
He also touched upon the financial assistance under the Rural Infrastructure Development Fund (RIDF) support to GoK and Institutional Development measures to the Cooperatives and RRB. He also briefed about the highlights of State Focus paper 2024-25.
Kerala Biz News