Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Sept 1: Dr. Harsh Kumar Bhanwala, Chairman NABARD (National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development) had an interaction today with senior officers of the State Government.
He discussed issues relating to funding support for RIDF (Rural Infrastructure Development Fund) for the State, Capital formation in Agriculture in J&K and Ground Level Credit (GLC) flow by banks as also the banking scenario and areas where synergy could be developed with the banks by the State Government. The health of the Cooperative Banking System was discussed in particular. Also discussed were the climate change and micro credit initiatives in the state and sectors where NABARD could coordinate with the State Government. He exhorted to the State Government officials to expeditiously work on revival of cooperative banks. The State Government was also requested to waive the stamp duty on financing of SHGs / JLGs formed under all types of programmes. He advised that NABARD and State Government should jointly envision the infrastructure plans for agricultural development.
Earlier, in a review with the senior banks of the State, the Chairman NABARD reviewed the Ground Level Credit (GLC) flow in J&K, particularly the credit flow to Agriculture and its ramifications. He emphasized that the skewed delivery of credit across the sectors and regions needed to be addressed for inclusive growth. He also stressed the need for institutional credit support for tapping the potential in the unexploited sectors. The need to support the capital formation in agriculture through bank credit was particularly stressed. Microfinance initiatives were also reviewed and the need to scale up SHGs (Self Help Groups) and JLGs (Joint Liability Groups) was taken up in particular. Financial Inclusion was another area taken up for review, particularly the banks’ expansion plans.
Dr Harsh Kumar Bhanwala also advised that NABARD has initiated concept of Producers Organisations (POs). He said that while NABARD is investing in Development of POs, the banks may take initiative of supporting these POs through their credit products and also help in linking the SHGs and JLGs credit linked by banks to the concept of PO for larger development of the Producer farmers / artisans.
The meeting was attended by Mushtaq Ahmad, Chairman J&K Bank, D. Sethy, RD, RBI, Naresh Gupta, CGM, NABARD, Head Office, Shankar A Pande, CGM, NABARD J&K, S K Bhat Convenor SLBC and other senior bankers.
The Chairman had a separate meeting with Cooperative Bankers and discussed issues relating to the viability of the Cooperative Banks. Subsequently the Chairman NABARD interacted with the members of Joint Liability Groups (JLGs) and Farmers Producers organization (FPOs) working in Kashmir Valley.
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