The Hindu Business Line : Nabard unveils Rs 31,691-cr credit plan for Kerala

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Thiruvananthapuram Feb. 1 The National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development Bank (Nabard) has prepared a credit plan of Rs 31,691 crore for the priority sector in Kerala in 2007-08.

In the current year, the credit flow from banks is expected to be to the tune of Rs 24,212 crore, according to the estimates presented at a State-level credit seminar organised by the regional office of Nabard here on Thursday.

In 2007-08, the aggregate level of credit flow projected in the State Focus Paper put together by Nabard comprises agriculture and allied activities (Rs 11,762 crore), non-farm sector and agro-processing (Rs 4,895 crore) and services sector (Rs 15,034 crore).

PRIORITY SECTORS

The seminar identified infrastructure development, agriculture and allied activities, housing, tourism, information technology, small-scale industries, micro enterprises and agro and food processing industries as the vibrant sectors of the State's economy.

The State Chief Secretary, Mrs Lizzie Jacob, who inaugurated the seminar, stressed the need for more credit flow towards agriculture and allied sector. The focus of the collective efforts of the Government and bankers in the State should be on increasing the productivity, which called for higher levels of knowledge inputs, she noted.

The rural non-farm sector is an important area considering the State's traditional industries such as handloom, handicrafts and coir. They hold great potential for growth if these could be linked with the changing world trade scenario.

She said that efforts would be needed for creating strong institutional leaderships to drive the manifold components such as design innovation, production oriented to the market and sharpening of skills. The State has the basic strengths and capability for innovation, she added.

CREDIT PLANS

Mr B.S. Shekhawat, Chief General Manager, Kerala Regional Office of Nabard, said the bank had prepared district-specific `potential linked credit plans' for the State for 2007-08. These plans assessed the exploitable potential in each district, he said.

The seminar discussed the ongoing initiatives of the State Government and Nabard, such as formulation of watershed development projects and other programmes, in the three distressed districts of Kasargod, Wayanad and Palakkad.

More Stories on : Farm credit | Agricultural Institutions | Kerala

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