Gujarat gets Rs 1,111 cr from Nabard

Disbursement in 2003-04 up 17% ; assistance this year seen over Rs 2,000 crore

The National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (Nabard) has extended financial assistance of Rs 1,111 crore in Gujarat in fiscal 2003-04, up 17 per cent from the disbursement in the previous fiscal year.

This amount has been disbursed for agriculture and allied activities, rural development, infrastructure development, micro credit and other rural development initiatives.

Nabard chief general manager Bhawar Puri on Thursday said this assistance included Rs 4.9.3 crore towards production and marketing credit, Rs 325 crore for investment credit for farm and non-farm sector activities, Rs 374 crore for rural infrastructure development and other assistance for supporting various activities like rural entrepreneurship development programmes, training bank officials and NGOs engaged in rural development and strengthening rural financing institutions.

Puri said the consultancy division of Nabard also assisted in working out a revival package for the Vadodara District Central Co-operative Bank and the division has also provided consultancy services for about a dozen horticulture and floriculture projects in Gujarat.

"The annual growth in disbursements over the past few years has been between 12 and 14 per cent, but this year, the growth has been a substantial 17 per cent," Puri said.

"We expect the disbursements this year to be in excess of Rs 2,000 crore in Gujarat. This will be a sizable jump," Puri said.

He said crop loan disbursements are projected to be around Rs 700 crore and term loans around Rs 350 crore for the current fiscal year.

"Add to this infrastructure and water projects, which will be Rs 1,000 crore at least during the fiscal year," Puri said.

Puri said an analysis of the purpose-wise availment of refinance indicates that dairy development accounted for Rs 68 crore, forming 20.85 per cent of refinance.

This was followed by farm mechanisation, which was Rs 66.71 crore (20.5 per cent) and rural non-farm sector, which accounted for Rs 36.67 crore, forming 11.3 per cent.

Under the production credit segment, short-term credit limits to the extent of Rs 505 crore to nine district central co-operative banks and Rs 70 crore to eight regional rural banks were sanctioned. Rs 34.4 crore was sanctioned for financing procurement and marketing of agricultural crops to the Gujarat State Co-operative Bank on behalf of four DCCBs.

Of the total refinance of Rs 325 crore against investment credit, as much as 50 per cent has been availed of by co-operative banks and commercial banks. The share of regional rural banks has been negligible, Puri said.

In 2003-04, Nabard sanctioned 11,903 rural infrastructure development projects worth Rs 374 crore to the state government. This involved development of the Saurashtra branch Narmada canal and its sub branch canals.