On May 29, 2020, National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD), a development bank focusing primarily on the rural sector of the country, has extended Rs 1,050 crore special liquidity facility (SLF) to West Bengal (WB) so far in the current fiscal year (FY 21) for the welfare of farmers and poor people in the state.
- Of the total amount, Rs 300 crore disbursed for MFIs (micro-finance institutions), Rs 700 crore sanctioned for state cooperative banks and Rs 50 crore for regional rural banks (RRBs).
Special liquidity facility:
It aims to increase 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.
Key Points:
i.NABARD had already approved an amount of Rs 720 crore to the state cooperative banks and regional rural banks & the disbursement to micro-finance institutions (MFIs) would start soon.
ii.The credit support to the rural areas of the state is extremely important to sustain agricultural operations as the economy is hit by the outbreak of coronavirus (COVID-19).
About National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD):
Headquarters– Mumbai, Maharashtra
Chairman– Govinda Rajulu Chintala
About West Bengal (WB):
Capital– Kolkata
Chief Minister– Mamata Banerjee
Governor– Jagdeep Dhankhar
State Bird– White-throated kingfisher
State Flower– Night-flowering jasmine
