By IANS,
Kolkata : The National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) plans to set up rural credit bureaus in the districts and initiate steps to popularise Kisan Credit Cards, a bank official said Saturday.
“Once implemented, this will go a long way in improving the financial position of India’s 480 million marginal farmers,” NABARD managing director K.G. Karmakar said here while addressing a seminar on “Financial Inclusion for the Common Indian”, organised by the Bengal Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BCCI) here.
The Kisan Credit Cards scheme, started in 1998-99 by the NABARD and the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), aims at providing adequate and timely support from the banking system to the farmers for their short-term credit needs during cultivation of crops. The credit limit is based on agriculture income.
Karmakar said NABARD has also set a target of Rs.3,75,000 crore credit disbursement in the current fiscal, up from Rs.3,25,00 last year.
He stressed the need for greater involvement of non-governmental organisations to reach the benefits of financial inclusion to the masses.