The National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (Nabard), on Monday, said it has extended Rs 20,500-crore special liquidity facility to co-operative banks (Rs 15,200 crore) and Regional Rural Banks (Rs 5,300 crore) in various States.

This is against the Rs 5,000 crore lent during the first quarter of the last year, Nabard said in a statement. The special liquidity facility is with a view to augment the resources of the Cooperative banks and RRBs to enable them to extend credit to farmers for taking up pre-monsoon and kharif (summer sown crops) 2020 operations, it added.

 

As part of the government’s overall Rs 20-lakh-crore special Covid-19 package, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had mentioned last week that Nabard would extend additional refinance support of Rs 30,000 crore for crop loan requirement of Rural Co-operative Banks and RRBs.

 

This is over and above the Rs 90,000 crore to be provided byNabard through the normal refinance route during this year, she added.

This front-loaded on-tap refinance facility to 33 State Co-operative banks, 351 District Co-operative Banks, and 43 RRBs will be available on tap, based on their lending .

 

Meanwhile, Nabard said cooperative banks and RRBs have initiated a programme of saturation of KCC (kisan credit cards) and about 12 lakh new KCC cards have been issued by them during the last two months. A total of 4.2 crore KCCs have been issued by Cooperative banks & RRBs as on 31 March, it added.

 

Nabard is a development financial institution, promoting sustainable and equitable agriculture and rural development.