Gandhinagar, 26 February 2013

National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) has prepared State Credit Plan for Gujarat envisaging Agriculture credit flow of Rs. 2,37,698 Crore during 12 th Five Year Plan period (2012-2017). The outlay for the priority sector comprising of agriculture, agro processing, small and micro enterprises, education, housing sector etc. stands at Rs. 3,46,335 Crore.

NABARD prepares district level Potential Linked Credit Plans (PLPs) that forms the basis for preparation of District Credit Plan by the Lead Banks. These PLPs are aggregated to prepare State Focus Paper which contains district-wise, activity-wise projections in respect of various sectors such as crop loan, water resources, land development, plantation and horticulture, animal husbandry, agro processing etc.

Dr. Varesh Sinha, IAS, Chief Secretary, Government of Gujarat in the State Credit Seminar, organised by NABARD at Ahmedabad Management Association (AMA) on 26 February 2013, released the State Focus Paper for 2013-14.

Welcoming the guests, Shri H.R.Dave, Chief General Manager, NABARD, Gujarat Regional Office, emphasised the need for enhancing credit flow to the agriculture sector for increasing agricultural output which is a priority in the wake of the food security concerns in the country. He also noted that enhanced agricultural productivity is necessary for increasing the income of the farmers. He explained the process for preparation of the State Focus Paper projections and requested the bankers to fine tune the credit planning process in their respective banks on the basis of projections envisaged by NABARD. Speaking about 2013- 14 projections, he informed that total priority sector plan for 2013-14 for the state works out to Rs. 61300.51 crore, of which agriculture including crop loan and term loan for various agricultural allied activities accounts for Rs. 41166.24 crore, envisaging a growth of 21 % over 2012-13 targets.

While appreciating the efforts of the Gujarat Government in providing enabling infrastructure in the State, Shri Dave informed that some of the critical infrastructure needs in agriculture, animal husbandry, land development, irrigation sector had been identified by NABARD in consultation with various stakeholders and posed to State Government for necessary action. He expressed satisfaction that some of these needs have already been addressed in the recently announced State Budget for 2013-14.

In his keynote address, Dr. Varesh Sinha, IAS, Chief Secretary, Government of Gujarat appreciated the efforts of NABARD in preparation of State Focus Paper and exhorted the bankers to come forward and enhance credit flow to agriculture sector on the lines suggested by NABARD. He gave an account of various measures being taken by the Government in Agriculture and Rural Development Sector and informed that due to efforts of the Government, the total cultivable area in the State has increased from 110 lakh ha to 145 lakh ha. He also shared the success of the Krishi Mahotsav campaigns being organized by the State Government. He informed that close on the success of ‘Vibrant Gujarat ’ being organized by the State Govt. for industrial development, the Government will be organizing ‘Vibrant Agriculture ’ in the ensuing year.

Shri N K Gayon, General Manager and in-charge Regional Director, RBI, requested the banking system in the State to extend its outreach and cover the remotest corners of the State so as to facilitate agriculture credit flow to the farmers. He also advised the banks to start their credit planning process based on projections worked out by NABARD in its PLP and State Focus Paper.

Speaking on the occasion, Shri S.N.Patel, Convener SLBC, Dena Bank observed that the projections worked out by NABARD are very realistic and in tune with ground realities. He observed that the projections worked out by NABARD are achievable. He expressed hope that the Lead Banks will convert these projections into District Credit Plans. He also assured that SLBC would ensure that credit flow to various sectors under agriculture is duly enhanced. A presentation on the State Focus Paper giving its salient features and highlights was made during Seminar, which was well received. As a part of the Seminar, panel discussions were arranged on three themes viz. (1) Enhancing credit flow to Agriculture (2) Critical infrastructure gaps for enhancing agriculture production and (3) Strengthening micro finance movement in Gujarat.

Professor Vijay Paul Sharma, IIM, Ahmedabad, Shri R.S.Sodhi, Managing Director, Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation, Smt. Jayshree Vyas, Managing Director, SEWA Bank chaired the panel discussions which resulted in outlining various new strategies for implementation in these areas. Banks in the State need to redouble their efforts for financing Self Help groups (SHGs), Joint Liability Groups (JLGs) as the progress in this regard is not up to the mark as compared to other states. NABARD has taken many initiatives towards this. To motivate the field level bankers to enhance financing under these two activities, 20 Branch Managers of various banks were felicitated during the seminar. Similarly, 10 Branch Mangers who have done excellent work in financing under Kisan Credit Cards (KCCs) were also felicitated. Senior Government Officials, Senior Bankers from Commercial banks,

Chairman of RRBs, Lead District Mangers, GSCB officers, CEOs of District Central Co-operative Banks, Scientists from Agriculture Universities and NGOs, attended the Seminar.