The state government is hopeful of receiving an assistance of Rs 2,500 crore from the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (Nabard), under Rural Infrastructure Development Fund (RIDF) in the ongoing financial year.
Nabard had provided around Rs 1,800 crore to Rs 2,000 crore under RIDF in the previous financial year and the assistance is expected to go up to Rs 2,500 crore this fiscal, said Manoj Pant, state additional chief secretary finance at the 41st Foundation Day of Nabard today.
Presently, 19 state departments are working closely with the Nabard, which provides assistance in development of rural infrastructure.
“The performance of the farmers’ producer organisations (FPOs) and the self-help groups (SHGs) had been satisfactory. Nabard can play an important role as it can help in creating forward and backward linkages,” he said.
He said that marketing of products is one of the major challenges and stressed upon handholding of the FPOs and SHGs.
It may be mentioned here that Srishtishree – the urban haat for handcrafted products of rural Bengal and Sabala Mela have been the major initiative by the state government in marketing of products.
Chief general manager of Nabard AR Khan said that there would be a growth of 15-16 per cent of assistance this year.
Last fiscal, Nabard had refinanced Rs 750 crore to the microfinance institutions in the state, wherein it also collaborated with the IIT-Kharagpur for incubating startups in the agriculture sector, Mr Khan said.