The Union Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary informed the Lok Sabha that the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) has extended significant refinance support to cooperative banks across States and Union Territories during the last five financial years to strengthen rural credit flow.
In a written reply, the Minister stated that NABARD has provided both long-term and short-term refinance to State Cooperative Banks (StCBs) and State Cooperative Agricultural and Rural Development Banks (SCARDBs), along with Regional Rural Banks and other rural credit institutions.
As per the data shared, long-term refinance disbursed to State Cooperative Banks amounted to Rs 6,199.96 crore in 2020-21. This increased to Rs 11,453.71 crore in 2021-22 and Rs 12,955.13 crore in 2022-23.
The disbursement further rose to Rs 17,113.97 crore in 2023-24 before standing at Rs 12,281.54 crore in 2024-25. During the period from FY 2023-24 to FY 2024-25, State Cooperative Agricultural and Rural Development Banks received long-term refinance from NABARD amounting to Rs 2,100.65 crore and Rs 2,578.41 crore, respectively.
The reply also highlighted substantial short-term refinance support extended to State Cooperative Banks. NABARD disbursed Rs 1.08 lakh crore in 2020-21, which increased to Rs 1.34 lakh crore in 2021-22 and Rs 1.35 lakh crore in 2022-23. The amount further rose to Rs 1.61 lakh crore in 2023-24 and Rs 1.73 lakh crore in 2024-25.
While long-term refinance extended by NABARD to State Cooperative Banks declined in FY 2024-25 compared to FY 2023-24, short-term refinance support to these banks recorded an increase during the same period.
According to the government, NABARD operates several dedicated funds for cooperative banks, including the Short Term Cooperative Credit Fund (STCRC) and the Long Term Rural Credit Fund (LTRCF), to enable them to extend agricultural and rural loans.
The reply further stated that the government has instituted multiple funds within NABARD such as the Rural Infrastructure Development Fund (RIDF), Long Term Irrigation Fund (LTIF), Warehouse Infrastructure Fund (WIF) and Food Processing Fund (FPF) to support long-term rural infrastructure and rural development programmes.