By Bizodisha Bureau, Bhubaneswar, April 26, 2017 : National Bank for Agricultural and rural Development [NABARD] has notched a record 76% growth in loan disbursement to the Odisha government, Banks, corporations and other agencies like non-government organisations and producer organisations in 2016-17.

Nabard has disbursed a total loan of Rs 14,716 crore in 2018-17 compared to Rs 8368 crore disbursed in the previous fiscal, according to its chief general manager, Dr K C Panigrahi.

Addressing a press conference here on Wednesday, Dr Panigrahi said, Nabard has identified certain focus areas in the state for the next fiscal.

“These include supporting irrigation facilities in the state by providing financial assistance under special Lon Term Irrigation Fund, set up Government of India with a corpus of Rs 20,000 crore, enhancing capital formation in agriculture and devising strategies to augment disbursement of agricultural term loan by the banks, facilitating access of credit to tenant farmers and share croppers, seamless technology in Rural Financial Institutions, digitization of Self Help Groups [SHG] and Farmers Clubs, risk mitigation measures for the distressed farmers and providing replicable development models, particularly through convergence with other agencies”.

In the last fiscal, under Rural Infrastructure Development fund [RIDF], Nabard has let about Rs 2406 crore to establish five lakh litres per day dairy plant in Cuttack by OMFED [Rs 232.13 crore], construction of 277 road by the state government under Mukhya Mantir Sadak Yojna and sanction of 12 mega lift irrigation projects in Kalahandi and Nuapada [Rs 270.17 crore].

The cumulative RIDF disbursement in the state at the end of March 2017 stood at Rs 12324.71 crore, Dr Panigrahi said adding that the RIDF assistance aims at bringing 21.5 lakh hectare of area under irrigation and construction of 9649 kilometre of road and nearly 1.11 lakh metre length of bridges.

The Bank has also sanctioned Rs 1230.96 crore to complete 6 incomplete major irrigation projects like Lower Indra, Upper Indravati, Ruura, Anandpur barrage, Ret irrigation and Kanupur, he added.

The Bank has disbursed Rs 9155 crore as short term refinance to cooperative regional rural banks to meet the credit needs of farmers for their agricultural cooperation at subsidised rate of interest during 2016-17. Similarly, it has disbursed long term refinance of Rs 475.59 crore to banks and micro fiancé institutions. Nabard also lent Rs 2124 crore to Odisha State Civil Supplies Corporation for paddy procurement in 2016-17.