Cooperatives should push farm credit | Business Line

Cooperatives should push farm credit | Business Line

My VIEW:

NABARD’s
role
This refers to the BL
interview with NITI Aayog member Ramesh Chand (Cooperatives should push farm
credit, November 24). When National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development
(NABARD) was formed by hiving out certain areas of responsibility till then
held with RBI, the expectation was that the new apex body would oversee the
functioning of cooperatives and Regional Rural Banks more efficiently. NABARD
instead opted an easier route by concentrating more on activities of commercial
bank branches in rural and semi-urban areas and managing Rural Infrastructure
Development Fund (RIDF) created by contributions from banks which lagged in
priority sector lending.
It is comforting to see
that NITI Aayog has recognised the relevance of cooperatives in the
Indian context. Once an appropriate environment is created by appropriate skill
development and infusion of technology, cooperatives will be able to do wonders
in rural finance. NABARD need to take note of the emergence of small banks and
investment banks in the commercial banks’ group and make cooperatives and
Regional Rural banks competitive so that ‘death’ of those institutions do not
create a vacuum in the financial system, which India can ill-afford.
M
G Warrier
, Mumbai



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