Also: National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development
Definition
India's apex development bank for agriculture and the rural economy, set up on 12 July 1982 by an Act of Parliament on the recommendation of the CRAFICARD committee, which refinances rural lenders, funds rural infrastructure, supervises cooperative and regional rural banks and promotes self-help groups.
After bank nationalisation in 1969, the government wanted credit to reach farmers and rural artisans, but commercial banks preferred urban borrowers. The RBI handled agricultural credit through its Agricultural Credit Department and the Agricultural Refinance and Development Corporation. In 1979 the RBI set up the Committee to Review Arrangements for Institutional Credit for Agriculture and Rural Development (CRAFICARD), chaired by B. Sivaraman, a former member of the Planning Commission. It recommended a single, specialised institution to focus on rural credit and development.
NABARD began work in July 1982, taking over the RBI's rural credit functions and the refinance corporation. Initially the RBI held a large part of its capital alongside the Government of India; over time the RBI's stake was transferred, and by 2018 the government owned it fully. This page looks at NABARD as a development finance institution, rather than as a part of the banking system's regulation.
Create a free account to read 5 full pages a month, or upgrade for unlimited access. The definition above, the A–Z index and the pop-up definitions in lessons stay free.
