Waking up the representatives of Agriculture & Rural Co-op Development Banks from slumber, Union Home and Cooperation Minister Amit Shah drew a larger canvas and showed them how they can help realize the dream of the Prime Minister in making India a five trillion-dollar economy.
Deliberating on the state of affairs for ARDBs in the country, the Union Minister felt an urgent need to take up an extension and expansion campaign for opening rural co-op banks across the country. “Long term credit creates infrastructure on farmland and goes a long way in making farmers prosperous”, he said adding NABARD should set up a separate wing for Extension & Expansion of ARDs.
The Union Minister was speaking at the National Conference of ARDBs at NCUI Auditorium in Delhi on Saturday. Those present on the occasion included B.L. Verma, Union Minister of State for Cooperation and Development of North-East Region, Gyanesh Kumar, Secretary, Ministry of Cooperation, Dileep Sanghani, NCUI President, Dr. Chandra Pal Singh Yadav, President, ICA (Asia-Pacific Region), among others.
NCUI Auditorium was jam packed with delegates who came from various parts of the country. They numbered more than 800. The audience also had some VIPs including NABARD Chairman R Chintala. National Cooperative Agriculture & Rural Development Banks’ Federation Ltd. (NAFCARD) played the host.
While lauding them for their historical role in enabling farmers to depend more on their labour than on monsoons, Amit Shah said for India to prosper, long term credit must have a bigger share in the financing and it be given without much hassle.
Lamenting that in the past 25 years the share of long-term credit, which are used for creating infrastructure have been reduced from 50% to 25% in the total credit outflow, Shah said that NABARD and ARDs should focus more on the purpose of their existence than on the banking operation.
“Banking operations should not be an end in itself. The aim of ARDs should be to make farmers capable of taking long term loans to create durable infrastructure on the farmland”, stated Shah.
Exhorting NABARD and NAFCARD to work with the government to revive ARDs in states, Amit Shah said a meeting on the subject would be soon held in the Ministry. Starting as a Land Mortgage Bank, the ARDs have come a long way since its inception 90 years ago but have percolated down to smallest levels, asked the Minister.
Admitting that there are many hurdles, Shah said ARDs and Nabard should help fight small landholding situations by bringing farmers under co-operatives. He named Amul in this context and said that the Amul model aimed at not only setting up dairies but also networking dairy farmers through co-operatives. It even made roads to realize its goal, stated the Minister.
Shah said ARDs should coordinate with PACs and DCCBs for comprehensive development of rural areas. There are more than 8 crores tractors in the country but ARDs have only financed 3 lakhs of them; there are 13 crore farmers but ARDs schemes have only reached up to 5.2 lakh farmers. “You can even organize joint financing”, he said, stressing that the ultimate goal of ARDs should be the prosperity of farmers.
Lauding some of the ARDs for their novel reforms, Shah said the reforms should not be bank specific and should spread to the entire sector. NAFCARD has to play a role here, he stressed.
In his 30-minute speech the Union Minister touched upon many new ideas, mooted and being executed by the govt. These included PACS in new avatar, Database for co-ops, Co-op University, phenomenal rise in MSP for farmers, among others.
The occasion also saw felicitation of SCARDBs in Kerala, Karnataka, Gujarat and West Bengal for outstanding performance at the hands of Union Minister Amit Shah. Four banks which completed 90 years were also felicitated.
Earlier, Dollar Kotecha, the host, welcomed the Minister and other guests. NCUI President Dileep Sanghani said we welcome Amitbhai as it is for the first time that he has come to NCUI. Sanghani said Amitbhai always speaks something new and all of us are eager to hear him. Leaders kept their speeches short saying they wanted to hear Amit Shah.
MoS B L Verma stressed on involving youths in the co-op movement. NAFCARD Managing Director proposed a vote of thanks.
