Latest news with #Nabard
The Hindu
21-07-2025
- General
- The Hindu
Minister lays foundation for knowledge centre in Namakkal
Minister for Adi Dravidar Welfare M. Mathiventhan laid the foundation for a knowledge centre in the district on Monday. The Minister participated in the ground breaking ceremony for the centre at a cost of ₹1.27 crore at Thirumalaipatty in Puduchatram Panchayat Union. Under the Iyothee Thass Pandithar Habitation Development Scheme and the Nabard scheme, funds were allocated for this centre. Officials said the centre would be constructed as a two-storey building and the ground floor would be constructed at 2,228.47 sq. ft., and the first floor 1,874 sq. ft. The ground floor would have a skill development hall with a seating capacity of 100 people and an integrated development centre. A scheme exhibition room for women would be constructed on the ground floor. At the first floor, a training centre for farmers and Self-Help Groups with a seating capacity of 100 people and a meeting hall and computer hall would be constructed, the officials added. Namakkal MLA P. Ramalingam and officials participated in the function.
Time of India
19-07-2025
- Business
- Time of India
Mohol sets sights on 7,000 new PACS in state in one year
Pune: Minister of state for cooperation and civil aviation Murlidhar Mohol said on Saturday 7,000 new primary agricultural credit societies (PACS) would be established in the state with the help of Nabard , covering almost all gram panchayats in Maharashtra. Speaking at the 44th foundation day celebrations of the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (Nabard) in Yashada on Saturday, Mohol said all assistance would be provided to create these PACS and he would speak with chief minister Devendra Fadnavis about it. He said provisions were being made to ensure PACS received funds directly from the Maharashtra State Cooperative Bank where district banks were in financial trouble. Mohol also said it was crucial to strengthen the District Central Cooperative Banks (DCCBs). The minister said of the 8 lakh PACS in the country, about 2.25 lakh were in Maharashtra and Pune alone had 32,000. "We can strengthen the country's economy only by strengthening PACS at the panchayat-level. Hence, instead of PACS functioning solely as credit societies, we have introduced multipurpose PACS by assigning them businesses such as Jan Aushadhi Kendras, petrol pumps and gas agencies to make them economically viable. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Is it legal? How to get Internet without paying a subscription? Techno Mag Learn More Undo The govt plans to set up two lakh PACS across India, of which 40,000 have been established. Efforts are underway to convert existing dairy and fishery cooperative societies into multipurpose PACS," said Mohol, lauding NABARD's efforts in rural India. You Can Also Check: Pune AQI | Weather in Pune | Bank Holidays in Pune | Public Holidays in Pune Pravin Darade, the principal secretary of the cooperation, marketing and textile department, Maharashtra, said, "There are around 28,000 gram panchayats and over 21,000 PACS in Maharashtra. Our target is to start PACS in the remaining 7,000 gram panchayats within the next one year. A majority of these would be in Vidarbha and Marathwada. PACS help farmers gain access to loans and other benefits. To make them financially viable, the Govt of India has introduced more than 25 services. Each PAC is expected to provide at least three of these services." The best multipurpose PACS (MPACS) and DCCBs in the state were given awards in the event. V Shridhar, senior general manager, National Dairy Development Board, gave a presentation on "PACS as Milk Pouring Points" as one of the non-credit activities. Chief general manager, Nabard, Maharashtra, Rashmi Darad spoke about various initiatives of Nabard and its policy perspectives. (Inset 1) Ignore foreign media on AI crash: Minister Minister of state for civil aviation Murlidhar Mohol told people not to draw conclusions on the Air India (AI 171) crash. "We don't need to look at what the foreign media is reporting about the matter. The report is in front of us. AAIB has investigated the matter without bias. This is just a primary report. There is no need to draw conclusions based on this. Till the final report comes, talking about it is wrong," said Mohol. (Inset 2) 'Provisions made to ensure leopard's presence doesn't affect flights' Minister of state for civil aviation Murlidhar Mohol said, "We had a meeting with the airport authorities, defence personnel, Pune Municipal Corporation and others about the leopard. We have taken many precautions. The forest department has made all provisions to capture it. Moreover, all precautions have been taken to ensure that flying services are in no way affected because of the leopard.
Time of India
14-07-2025
- Business
- Time of India
Agri credit will surpass Rs Rs 32L cr in FY26, says Nabard chairman
Chennai: With agriculture and rural growth catching up, the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (Nabard) has projected that agri credit will surpass Rs 32 lakh crore in the current fiscal (FY26). It is an increase by 14% when compared with more than Rs 28 lakh crore credit to the agriculture sector in FY25. 'If you see any rural growth as percentage, it is catching up with the urban growth (in terms of percentage). Agriculture growth has also improved. It has moved away from the historical rates of growth to higher growth. Last year (FY25), agri credit was slightly higher than Rs 28 lakh crore. This financial year we will be crossing Rs 32 lakh crore,' Shaji K V, chairman, Nabard, told TOI in an interview. The focus areas will be productivity enhancement and agri value chain financing. Pointing out that productivity improvement is one area which needs to be focused to improve the per capita income of farmers, he said, 'We are looking at value chain activities to be financed properly. Now, we are doing some pilots on agri value chain financing. Agri value chain financing is not just fund flow. We have to trace those funds to digitised means. There is internal financing and external financing in value chain financing. When external financing comes in, the cash flow should be escrowed. And there shall not be any leakage. Otherwise, there will be a lot of stress. So, we need to digitise those pilots that we are doing,' he added. Meanwhile, Nabventures, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Nabard, will soon launch the second round of Nabventures Fund with a focus on rural and climate resilience. Early stage, Series A and Series B startups will be funded. According to Shaji, the fund is likely to be launched in a couple of months. 'Internal and external approvals have been taken. We are in the advanced stage. Fund I was more of an agri focus and value chain. Climate resilience is one major area, which is coming in. So, innovations are required and we need to support these innovations,' he said. Stay informed with the latest business news, updates on bank holidays and public holidays . AI Masterclass for Students. Upskill Young Ones Today!– Join Now
Time of India
09-07-2025
- Business
- Time of India
Irregularities in solar pump project implemented by Anert, alleges Ramesh Chennithala
Thiruvananthapuram: Congress working committee (CWC) member Ramesh Chennithala on Wednesday demanded a detailed investigation into the irregularities in the Rs 240-crore tender to make grid-connected agriculture pumps solar under PM-Kusum scheme. After releasing documents, including the sanction order from Union ministry, Chennithala said there was an increase of over Rs 100 crore in total project cost and a misappropriation of more than Rs 100 crore in obtaining a loan of Rs 175 crore from Nabard. Agency for new and renewable energy research and technology (Anert) was given the order by Union ministry of new and renewable energy in May 2022 to convert 9,348 agricultural pumps to solar. Meanwhile, electricity minister K Krishnankutty instructed additional chief secretary of energy department to investigate the allegations of irregularities and submit a report. He said no one responsible for any irregularities found in the investigation would be protected. Appropriate further actions will be taken after receiving the investigation report, he said. There were irregularities on many counts, Ramesh alleged. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like An engineer reveals: One simple trick to get internet without a subscription Techno Mag Learn More Undo "The Rs 240-crore tender was scrapped after technical and financial bids were opened, the lowest bidder was allowed to withdraw and there were irregularities in accepting the financial bid in the second tender. Work orders were given to companies that didn't mention amounts in bids, grading was not followed in converting solar pumps and pumps were set up at 146% more than the benchmark set by govt of India. State govt returned around 85% of the subsidy to Centre," he said. Chennithala said the irregularities began when Anert CEO, who is authorised to call tenders worth up to Rs 5 crore, invited a tender for Rs 240 crore. "It needs to be clarified how such a high-value tender was called without govt's written approval," he said. Irregularities occurred throughout the entire process, he alleged. "After a company submitted its tender, they were given the opportunity for revisions and were issued a work order," he said, adding that govt should explain how changes were allowed after opening the tender. "Most contracts were awarded at more than double the benchmark amount set by central govt for installing such pumps. There is a difference ranging from Rs 1-3 lakh in contracts for various solar projects from 2-10 kilowatts. This resulted in a difference of nearly Rs 100 crore in total project cost," he alleged. The approval and corruption involved in causing such a significant difference should be investigated, he added. "This misappropriation was carried out by taking a loan of Rs 175 crore from Nabard. Grading was implemented for companies to ensure error-free project execution. It is understood that contracts were awarded to companies that didn't qualify. Contracts were given to companies without grading at the same amount as the one quoted by the lowest bidder," he said. An investigation into all these irregularities should be ordered by removing Anert CEO, Chennithala said.
Time of India
07-07-2025
- Business
- Time of India
RRB digitisation push: Nabard to complete IT integration of merged rural banks by Sep 30; New tech, stacks and digital pilots aimed at bridging rural-urban divide
AI image The IT integration of recently amalgamated Regional Rural Banks (RRBs) under the 'One State One RRB' framework is likely to be completed by September 30, Nabard Chairman Shaji KV said on Monday. Speaking at a CII event, Shaji said the RRB amalgamation exercise, which took effect on May 1, aimed at enhancing scale efficiency and cost rationalisation across rural banking services. Post-merger, there are now 28 RRBs operating in 26 states and 2 Union Territories, with a combined network of over 22,000 branches covering 700 districts, according to PTI. 'As of May 1, the integration of RRBs at the state level has been completed. IT integration is expected to be finalised by September,' Shaji said. He added that Nabard (National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development) is building a common digital infrastructure with the RRBs, rolling out credit platforms and government data systems to expand outreach in rural India. However, he acknowledged persistent challenges, including low internet bandwidth and limited awareness, but noted that collaborative efforts are underway with various organisations to resolve them. Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like 2 & 3 BHK Homes Near SGNP at Ghodbundar Rd Purva Panorama Click Here Undo by Taboola by Taboola Highlighting the broader digital roadmap, Shaji said Nabard is working to digitise agricultural value chains—about 20 of which are already in place—and bring more farmers, especially those without formal land records, into the formal banking system. To further enhance reach and transparency, Nabard is also deploying blockchain-based crop traceability systems and strengthening Business Correspondent (BC) networks in rural areas. The chairman said the government is also building additional technology stacks like the Agri Stack, Fisheries Stack, and Cooperative Stack. The 'Cooperative Stack' aims to integrate various rural schemes via Primary Agricultural Credit Societies (PACS), creating a unified system for benefit delivery. He noted that Nabard is leading the cooperative digitisation effort, with around 70,000 societies already digitised. It is also supporting pilots in partnership with NGOs and FinTechs through the Financial Inclusion Fund. Addressing the rural-urban income imbalance, Shaji pointed out that two-thirds of India's population contributes only one-third of the national income. Nabard is actively working on solutions to narrow this gap and transform farmers into agribusiness entrepreneurs. Additionally, the institution is setting up a sandbox environment that will allow fintechs to access anonymised data for developing rural-focused solutions, he added. Stay informed with the latest business news, updates on bank holidays and public holidays . AI Masterclass for Students. Upskill Young Ones Today!– Join Now
