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National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development
 Genesis of RIDF  
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 Model and Innovative  Projects  
 Success Stories  
 Monitoring Mechanism  
 Evaluation studies  
 RIDF - Photo Gallery  
 Suggested Readings  
 Non Starter Projects  
 State-Wise List Of  Projects Sanctioned  Under Ridf-XIV  
   

Rural Infrastructure Development Fund

   
   
 

Genesis of RIDF

 
1. RURAL INFRASTRUCTURE DEVELOPMENT FUND (RIDF) – GENESIS
 
In the Union Budget Speech 1995-96, Hon'ble Finance Minister announced that- "Inadequacy of public investment in agriculture is today a matter of general concern. This is an area, which is the responsibility of States. But many States have neglected investment in infrastructure for agriculture. There are many rural infrastructure projects, which have been started but are lying incomplete for want of resources. They represent a major loss of potential income and employment to rural population."
 
2. Corpus and Sources of Funds
 
RIDF-I was launched in 1995-96 with an initial corpus of Rs.2000 crore through contributions both from public and private sector having shortfall in the agricultural lending. Since 1996-97 i.e. RIDF-II, source of deposits from commercial banks has been broad-based by including shortfall in lending to agriculture and/or shortfall in priority sector lending. The tranche-wise size of corpus has been as under:
 

(Rs Crore)

RIDF Tranche/ Year

Year

Corpus

RIDF I            

1995-1996

2000

RIDF II           

1996-1997

2500

RIDF III          

1997-1998

2500

RIDF IV          

1998-1999

3000

RIDF V           

1999-2000

3500

RIDF VI          

2000-2001

4500

RIDF VII         

2001-2002

5000

RIDF VIII        

2002-2003

5500

RIDF IX           

2003-2004

5500

RIDF X            

2004-2005

8000

RIDF XI           

2005-2006

8000

RIDF XII          

2006-2007

10000

RIDF XIII           2007-2008 12000
RIDF XIV

2008-2009

14000

TOTAL

 

86000

 
3. Disbursements
 
Total sanctions as on 31 March 2008 aggregated Rs.74073.01 crore. The total cumulative disbursements as on 31 March 2008 were Rs.45594.85 crore. See ANNEXURE – I – RIDF at a glance (as on 31 March 2008).
Further, during 2007-08 a loan of Rs.4000 crore was sanctioned to NRRDA under a separate window under RIDF-XIII taking the total sanctions to Rs.8000 crore under RIDF XII & XIII for funding rural road component of BHARAT NIRMAN. The disbursements as against sanction of Rs.8000 crore were Rs.4500 crore as on 31 March 2008
 
4. Sanction of Projects
 
The projects pertaining to eligible sectors under each RIDF tranche are submitted by the State Governments through their Finance department to NABARD’s Regional Offices. The project proposals are scrutinized and appraised by the Regional Office with the help of Consultants by conducting desk and field appraisal. Appraisal reports submitted by the ROs are then scrutinised by State Projects Department at HO before placing the same to Sanctioning Committee (SC) for consideration of sanction. SC is a committee of the Board of Directors with following Members:
 
Chairman of NABARD;
Managing Director of NABARD;
Secretary (Banking), MoF, GoI, on the Board of NABARD;
Secretary, Ministry of Rural Development, GoI, on the Board of NABARD;
Secretary, Ministry of Agriculture, GoI, on the Board of NABARD;
Deputy Governor, RBI, on the Board of NABARD;
One Nominee from RBI Board of Directors: and
Two State Government Representatives from the Board of NABARD.
 
Normally seven or eight meetings of  SC are held in a year to sanction loans from the RIDF corpus. Sanctioning process under RIDF XIII (2007-08) has been operationalised and completed. Process of sanctions under RIDF-XIV and disbursements under ongoing tranches is in progress
Sanction of projects is communicated to the State Governments by a sanction letter which consists of General Terms and Conditions as well as Special Terms and Conditions / suggestions which are project specific.
 
5. Borrowing Institutions
 
Initially, only Sate Governments were eligible to borrow out of RIDF on project basis. However, Panchayat Raj Institutions (PRIs), Non- Governmental Organisations. Self-Help Groups, etc. were made eligible to borrow out of RIDF w.e.f. 1st April 1999 .
 
6. Activities/Sectors financed under RIDF
 
Only ongoing Irrigation, Flood Protection, Watershed Management projects were financed under RIDF-I as a 'last mile approach' to facilitate completion of the projects delayed on account of financial constraints.
The financing of rural Road & Bridge projects was started during RIDF-II. Subsequently, coverage of RIDF was broad-based in each tranche and at present, a wide range of 31 activities such as Primary and Secondary Schools, Primary Health Centres, Village Haats, Joint Forest Management, Terminal and Rural Market/ Godowns, Rain Water Harvesting, Watershed development, Flood Protection, Drainage, Cold Storage, Riverine Fisheries, Fishing Harbour & Jetties, Mini/Small Hydel Projects (upto10 MW) in Power Sector, Rural Drinking Water Supply Schemes, Village knowledge Centres, Modern abattoir, Seed/Agri./ Horticulture Farms, Anganwadi Centres, Rural Industrial Estates (KVIC)/ Centres etc. are being financed under RIDF.
 
7. Rate of Interest on RIDF Loan
 
The rate of interest on outstandings under various tranches are as under :
 

TRANCHE

RATE OF INTEREST (PER ANNUM)

RIDF-I

13.00

RIDF-II

12.00

RIDF-III

12.00

RIDF-IV

8.50 @

7.00 *

RIDF-V

8.50@

7.00*

RIDF-VI

8.50 @

7.00 *

RIDF-VII

8.00 @

7.00 *

RIDF-VIII

6.50

RIDF-IX

6.50

RIDF-X

6.50

RIDF-XI

6.50

RIDF-XII

6.50

 

@ w.e.f. 16 April 2005 for loans disbursed on or before 31 October 2003

*  on loans disbursed w.e.f. 01 November 2003

 
8. Differential Rate of Interest to Banks
 
The rates of interest on deposits received from the banks under tranches I to VI were less by 0.5% than the rates of interest charged by NABARD on RIDF loans to the State Govts. With a view to encouraging commercial banks to enhance flow of direct credit to agriculture, it was decided by RBI to link interest on bank contribution to RIDF, from Tranche-VII, to the extent of the shortfall of their agriculture lending vis-a-vis the targets. The inversely proportional rate of interest paid to commercial banks at present is as under:
 

Shortfall in lending to agriculture as percentage to net bank credit

Current rates (%) for RIDF VIII & IX from
01-11-2003 and for RIDF X , XI and XII

Less than 2%age points

6 (prevailing Bank Rate)

2 % to 4.99%age points

5 (prevailing BR minus 1%)

5% to 8.99%age points

4 (prevailing BR minus 2%)

9% age points and above

3 (Prevailing BR minus 3%)

 
As per the guidelines of RBI/GOI, NABARD retains a margin of 0.5% on cost basis for administering RIDF. The differential interest, however, is credited to the Tribal Development Fund maintained by NABARD.
 
9. Period of Loan
 
The repayment period of 5 years including a 2 year grace period was provided under RIDF-I to RIDF-V. The repayment period has, however, been extended to 7 years including a grace period of  2 years since RIDF-VI and the same is continuing.
 
10. Normative Allocation
 
The corpus of RIDF is allocated among all States on the basis of norms approved by the SC. Currently, the allocation norms provide weightage to Rural Population (20%), Geographical Area of the State (20%), Inverse of  Infrastructural Development Index (20%), inverse of Rural CD Ratio (15%), availment of sanction (5%) and disbursements(20%) in the past tranches. Some of the State Governments are not able to fully utilise the allocation and the State-wise allocations are reviewed by SC from time to time and appropriately reallocated.
 
11. Nodal Department for RIDF
 
The Finance Departments of the State Governments act as Nodal Departments for operationalising RIDF. The project proposals are routed through the Finance Department only and no proposal is accepted directly from any other Department of the State Government. All other related items of work like submission of drawals applications under sanctioned projects, release of loan, execution of documents, repayment of loans, etc., are attended to by Finance Departments of the State Governments.
 
12. Appraisal of Projects
 
Regional Offices receive the detailed project reports from State Governments based on their priorities and within the priorities/activities decided under RIDF. The detailed project reports are subject to field and desk appraisal by a team comprising of NABARD officers as well as consultants, who are normally senior retired officers of the concerned departments of State/Central Government.
 
13. Documentation
 
Besides normal documents such as acceptance of General and Special Terms & Conditions of sanction, Time Promissory Note (TPN), the State Government has to execute mandate with the RBI authorizing the latter to debit their current account and pay to NABARD in case of any default in payment of principal or repayment of interests on due date. The State Governments are required to furnish a certificate to the effect that the advances drawn are within the limits prescribed by the State Legislative Assembly under Article 293(1) as also within the borrowing limit fixed by the Government of India under Article 293(3) of the Constitution of India as per Form I.
 
14. Quantum of Loan
 
Loans will be available as per the following norms for sectors covered under RIDF-XIV :
 
Sr No Sector/Activity RIDF loan admissible as %age of eligible project cost for projects from hill states of Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir, Uttarakhand and North Eastern States including Sikkim RIDF loan admissible as %age of eligible project cost for projects from states other than mentioned in column (3)
(1) (2) (3) (4)
1 Activities related to agriculture such as irrigation, soil conservation, flood protection etc. 95% 95%
2 Social sector projects 90% 85%
3 Rural connectivity 90% 80%
 

15. Phasing of the Projects

The normal phasing (Project implementation Period) upto RIDF-XIII was 3 years. Since, RIDF-XIV phasing for implementation of projects has been revised as under :

a.         Projects from Hill States of Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir, Uttarakhand and North Eastern States including Sikkim :

  1. Maximum phasing period of 5 years for projects related with major and medium irrigation and other stand alone projects involving RIDF loan of Rs, 50 crore and more;
  2. Maximum phasing period of 4 years for other projects

b.         Projects from other States :

  • Maximum phasing period of 5 years for projects related with major and medium irrigation and other stand alone projects involving RIDF loan of Rs, 50 crore and more;
  • Maximum phasing period of 3 years for other projects
  • The phasing of the projects to be sanctioned in the second half of the financial year i.e. between 1st October abd 31 March will start from 1st April of next year. If the State Governments execute work ahead of the schedule, funds will be released accordingly.
 
 However, if there are constraints, phasing is extended for the Tranche as a whole or for specific projects to enable the State Governments to complete the projects.
 
16. Release of Funds
 
Mobilisation advance / Start up advance @ 20% (except for the North-Eastern and Hill States, where the Mobilisation advance/ Start up advance is 30%) of the RIDF Loan sanctioned under the projects is released to the State Governments on conveying acceptance of the terms & conditions of sanction by the State Government, for incurring expenditure on the projects for procurement and supply of materials, etc.
Loans are released on reimbursement basis against the actual expenditure incurred in execution of sanctioned projects. RIDF loans are released to the State Governments by Regional Offices of NABARD.
 
17. Cost Escalation
 
It is expected that RIDF projects would be completed on time within the approved cost. Proposals for cost escalation are considered based on merits.
 
18. Monitoring of RIDF Projects
 
Monitoring of projects is basically the responsibility of the State Governments. Yet an effective monitoring mechanism developed by NABARD is one of the strong features of RIDF. Currently, 9000-10,000 projects, which constitute about 9% of the ongoing projects, are annually field monitored by Districts Development Managers, other officers of ROs and Consultants. Selective sector-wise monitoring is undertaken by the HO and through external agencies also.
 
19. Monitoring Committees
 
In addition to the field monitoring, institutional mechanism has been developed for sectoral and project-wise review at the level of Superintending Engineers, Chief Engineers, Head of the Departments, Administrative Secretaries & Chief Secretaries to facilitate timely completion of RIDF projects. The mechanism has stabilised and is working satisfactorily. NABARD also organizes capacity building workshops for the Govt. staff working in various line departments connected with RIDF projects.
 
20. Announcement of RIDF XIV for 2008-09
 
a) While presenting the Union Budget, Hon’ble Finance Minister announced that the corpus of RIDF XIV has been increased to Rs. 14000 crore to be implemented during 2008-09. The following activities will be covered under RIDF XIV:
 
  • Rural Roads;
  • Rural Bridges;
  • Minor Irrigation Projects/Micro Irrigation;
  • Soil Conservation;
  • Flood Protection;
  • Watershed Development/Reclamation of waterlogged areas;
  • Drainage;
  • Forest Development;
  • Market Yard/Godown, Apna Mandi, Rural Haats and other marketing infrastructure;
  • Cold storage, Public or Joint sector cold storage at various exit points;
  • Seed/Agriculture/Horticulture Farms;
  • Plantation and Horticulture;
  • Grading and certifying mechanisms such as testing and certifying laboratories etc.;
  • Community irrigation wells for irrigation purposes for the village as a whole;
  • Fishing harbours/jetties;
  • Riverine Fisheries;
  • Animal Husbandry;
  • Modern Abattoir;
  • Medium Irrigation Projects;
  • Rural Drinking Water;
  • Infrastructure for Rural Education Institutions;
  • Public Health Institutions (including mobile health clinics);
  • Construction of toilet blocks in existing schools, where necessary, specially for girl students, so as to improve the amenities available in schools;
  • "Pay & use" toilets in rural areas;
  • Major Irrigation Project (only those projects already sanctioned and under execution);
  • Village Knowledge Centres;
  • Desalination plants in coastal areas;
  • Mini & Small Hydel Projects (upto 10 MW);
  • Infrastructure for Information Technology in rural areas;
  • Construction of Anganwadi Centres;
  • Setting up of rural industrial estates (KVIC)/Centres.
 
b) Bharat Nirman
 

The Hon’ble Union Finance Minister also announced that the separate window created under RIDF XII will continue under RIDF XIV also with additional allocation of Rs.4,000 crore for funding rural road component of Bharat Nirman taking the total allocation to Rs.12,000 crore.

 
Operationsalisation of RIDF XIII--2007-08
 
 

 

 

 

 
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
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