In a written reply in the Lok Sabha, Union Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary stated that Nabard’s support under direct refinance assistance to cooperative banks has been increased from Rs 2,346.91 crore (2022-23) to Rs 4,051 crore in the 2023-24 FY.
Additionally, Nabard’s refinance support to banks, including scheduled commercial banks, regional rural banks, and state cooperative banks, has seen a rise in short-term refinance from Rs 1,240 crore in 2022-23 to Rs 2,300 crore.
However, the long-term refinance has decreased from Rs 3,647.45 crore in 2022-23 to Rs 2,389.52 crore in the 2023-24 FY.
The Government has also implemented various other schemes for the welfare of farmers, including Timely Credit through the Kisan Credit Card (KCC) scheme, Income support to farmers through PM KISAN, Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY), the Micro Irrigation Fund for expanding coverage under micro irrigation, the Promotion of Farmer Producer Organisations (FPOs), the National Beekeeping and Honey Mission (NBHM), the Agri Infrastructure Fund (AIF), and the Namo Drone Didi scheme, among others.
