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The overall credit flow to the agricultural sector is likely to touch Rs 5.2 lakh crore this fiscal, substantially exceeding the budget target of Rs 4.75 lakh crore, the NABARD Chairman, Dr Prakash Bakshi has said.
This was in line with the Finance Minister, Mr Pranab Mukherjee’s recent remarks that farm credit would go beyond the Rs 5 lakh crore mark this fiscal.
“Based on the data available for the first four months, we expect the overall credit to the agricultural sector to touch Rs 5.2 lakh crore this fiscal. This would be all the banks and institutions put together”, Dr Bakshi said here.
He also said that NABARD has so far this fiscal refinanced cooperatives to the tune of Rs 38,000 crore. The NABARD Chairman expects the total refinance to be about Rs 50,000 crore this fiscal as against a target of Rs 40,000 crore.
The banking system has in the recent years been firing on all cylinders on the agricultural credit front, consistently exceeding the budget target and thereby raising the expectations of the Government for the subsequent year.
In 2010-11, the banks lent Rs 4.47 lakh crore, higher than the budget target of Rs 3.75 lakh crore.
On capital infusion, Dr Bakshi said he expects the Centre to infuse Rs 1,000 crore capital this fiscal. Currently, the paid-up capital stood at Rs 2,000 crore. A capital infusion of Rs 1,000 crore would help NABARD borrow as much as Rs 10,000 crore, he noted. The Centre currently holds 99 percent stake in NABARD.
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