The National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) has launched a scheme to provide grants for setting up women’s development cells in co-operative banks in all the 14 districts in Kerala.

“We have also been conducting gender sensitisation camps and workshops for bankers at the district level to facilitate internalisation of gender concerns in credit and improve the outreach of banks to women clients,” the Bank Chief Chief General Manager (Kerala and Lakshadweep) Mr K C Shashidhar said in a press release here.

He said the the Bank’s schemes aimed at inclusive growth included the ‘Gramadeepam’ programme, initiated by South Malabar Gramin Bank. Education through media and documentation of novel programmes and successful technologies were needed to achieve inclusive growth.

Mr Shashidhar said Kerala should pursue the bank’s inclusive growth schemes which were designed to ensure that all sections of society benefitted from them. Society should be made aware of the importance of sharing of benefits for survival and growth, he said.

The initiative by NABARD in this direction was the community radio station set up in Wayanad that covered the entire district.

Through the radio, the bank shared knowledge and awareness in natural resource management, sustainable crop production, skill development and preservation of ethnic language among farmers and tribals, he said.

NABARD had also started projects in three districts of Kerala (Palakkad, Wayanad and Kasaragod) for enhancing productivity of dry land through conserving soil, rain water and proper irrigation. The projects were being implemented under the Prime Minister’s Relief Package for Mitigation of Distress of Farmers.

Watershed projects were also being taken up in 90,000 hectares in these districts, with increased participation by the local communities, he said.

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