Lucknow: Minister of State for Cooperation (Independent Charge) of the state, JPS Rathore appreciated the contribution of NABARD in promoting agriculture and cooperative sector in Uttar Pradesh. He emphasized that NABARD has succeeded in fulfilling its set targets and at present it has become a strong pillar of India’s rural development journey. He praised the work culture of NABARD and its officers and emphasized on patiently listening to the most challenging issues faced by the cooperatives and providing solutions to them.
Cooperation Minister Rathore was addressing the 43rd Foundation Day celebrations of National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) Uttar Pradesh Regional Office located at Gomti Nagar, Lucknow as the Chief Guest, the theme of which was Empowerment through Cooperation. During this, he said that the goal of making India a developed country by 2047 can be achieved only when Uttar Pradesh plays a leading role. He emphasized the importance of strengthening cooperatives and PACS in the State to achieve the State’s goal of a one trillion dollar economy.
Delivering the welcome address, S.K. Dora, Chief General Manager, NABARD UP Regional Office welcomed the Cooperative Minister, Government of UP and thanked him for being present on the occasion. He elaborated how NABARD has touched the hearts of millions of rural people and how its initial experiment with SHG-BLP to link about 500 self help groups of the poor with formal financial institutions during the year 1992-93 has been transformed by NABARD into the world’s largest microfinance programme.
Since its inception in UP, NABARD has played a vital role in financing rural infrastructure, helping to create irrigation potential of 54.11 lakh hectares, 3.01 lakh meters of rural bridges and over 46000 km of rural roads, besides flood protection measures, rural schools and watershed development initiatives. He also emphasized that KCC is one of the major financial engineering initiatives of NABARD which has facilitated ease of access to credit for lakhs of farmers of Uttar Pradesh.
In the last 10 years, NABARD has provided short-term refinance of more than Rs. 62000 crore, long-term refinance of Rs. 22000 crore and direct refinance of Rs. 18000 crore in Uttar Pradesh. While sharing all these achievements, he also highlighted the challenges faced by weak cooperative banks such as high NPA, high imbalances, low net worth and low profitability and low return on assets which require focused action to improve the financial health of these cooperative banks.
On this occasion, NABARD felicitated the outstanding contributions of various stakeholders in rural development. UPPSCB and 10 DCCBs and 03 PACS were felicitated for their outstanding work in business expansion, financial inclusion and adoption of new technologies etc. Multipurpose PACS at Mubarakpur and Baraiya in Barabanki district and Katra Bahadurganj in Bahraich district were felicitated for their outstanding work under PACS computerization work which has paved way for transparency and enhanced efficiency in PACS operations and business diversification for which they were felicitated.
03 FPOs namely Ozone FPC Ltd., Sitapur, Purvanchal Poultry Producer Company Ltd., Deoria and Alfizo Siana Mango Variety Producer Company Ltd., Bulandshahr were also applauded in the event for their performance in collectivization of the produce of small and marginal farmers in their operational area and providing them sustainable business opportunities.
The function was also attended by representatives from the State Government, Reserve Bank of India, senior bankers and other institutions from across the state. The event concluded with the planting of a sapling by the Minister to commemorate the ‘Ek Ped Maa Ke Naam’ campaign.
