Ranchi, Jul 18 (PTI) The National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) on Friday reaffirmed its commitment to driving inclusive rural development, with a renewed focus on entrepreneurship, innovation, and financial inclusion on its 44th foundation day.
Shilpi Neha Tirkey, Jharkhand’s Minister for Agriculture, Animal Husbandry and Cooperation, acknowledged the NABARD’s significant contribution to rural development in the state and stressed the need for enhanced collaboration between the bank and the state government to improve the execution, monitoring, and impact of rural schemes.
Addressing the issue of rural credit bottlenecks, Tirkey urged the State Level Bankers’ Committee (SLBC) and financial institutions to address last-mile credit access challenges and adopt innovative practices to ensure timely credit to farmers and entrepreneurs.
Gautam Singh, chief general manager, NABARD Jharkhand, highlighted the institution’s evolving development vision and its role as a catalyst for rural transformation.
He outlined NABARD’s strategic interventions over the past 24 years in the state, ranging from strengthening farm and non-farm infrastructure to supporting farmer producer organisations (FPOs), and enabling financial inclusion through partnerships with banks and grassroots institutions.
Singh emphasised the growing importance of technology-driven solutions and climate-resilient practices in ensuring sustainable rural progress.
He reiterated NABARD’s role as a bridge between policy formulation and on-ground implementation, and its mission to deepen outreach to the most underserved sections of rural society.
Addressing the issue of rural credit bottlenecks, Tirkey urged the SLBC and financial institutions to address last-mile credit access challenges and adopt innovative practices to ensure timely credit to farmers and entrepreneurs.
A panel discussion on ‘Fostering Rural Entrepreneurship for Inclusive Growth’ took place on the occasion addressed by K Shrinivasan, Secretary, Rural Development Department, Anamika Sharma, Officer-in-Charge, RBI Ranchi, Prashant Gattani, President, Federation of Jharkhand Chamber of Commerce & Industries, Aman Kumar, faculty, IIM Ranchi and entrepreneur Nishant Kumar.
The panelists deliberated on enabling policies, youth engagement, financial linkages, market access, and the need for capacity building in the rural enterprise ecosystem.
NABARD was recognised for its catalytic role in promoting rural startups and empowering rural youth.
Two NABARD publications were launched on the occasion — ‘NABARD in Jharkhand 2024-25 — a comprehensive report detailing NABARD’s key initiatives and sectoral interventions, and ‘Unit Cost Booklet 2024-25’ – a practical tool for banks and stakeholders to plan and finance rural economic activities. PTI NAM MNB
This report is auto-generated from PTI news service. ThePrint holds no responsibility for its content.