In conversation with NABARD, Assam Chief General Manager (CGM), Mr. Naveen Dhingra
Guwahati: Established in 1982, the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) is entering its fifth decade of service to the nation. It aims to go along with the Centre and the Assam government and to take the mandate of ushering an era of prosperity in the rural areas of the country.
Business Northeast spoke to the Chief General Manager (CGM), Naveen Dhingra, on the backdrop of NABARD Karigar Mela that started at Shrimanta Shankardeva Kalakshetra Society on February 9. Excerpts from the interview:
BNE: Tell us something about NABARD.
CGM: NABARD is a national-level institution dedicated to overall integrated rural development, be it in the farm or non-farm sector. We take all necessary steps so that integrated rural development takes place. As we all know that Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav is celebrating the 75th year of independence, we have also taken the pledge to go along with the Government of India and the Government of Assam to take the mandate of bringing prosperity to the rural areas.
All through, we have been evolving ourselves and trying to come out with some innovative products which can cater to the rural people so that they are in a position to improve their livelihood and have sustainable development.
In that continuity, today’s NABARD Karigar Mela has been organised.
BNE: What NABARD is doing in Assam?
CGM: We have different types of functions. Besides providing refinance to the rural financial institutions we are also there as a supervisor. We do inspections of these rural financial institutions so that they are in good financial health. The other is the institutional development and the development part of NABARD’s activities. We have innovative area-based programmes like we have tribal development projects. We have 21 tribal development projects spread over 26 districts in Assam covering around 10,000 tribal families. It is a fully grant-based programme (grant is provided by NABARD). On average, for every tribal development project, we give a grant of Rs 3-4 crore. That money is basically to develop small size orchards having areca nut, Assam lemon, pineapple or any other orchard that can be done. The purpose is to provide sustainable livelihood to tribal families.
As the products are coming to some harvesting, there is some time. We are giving an alternative livelihood also to that. So that they are able to generate a regular income. The idea is that like giving them poultry or backyard piggery, fishery, etc, so that income is generated from day one. By the time, Assam lemon and areca nut start generating income, these supplementary activities will be able to give you fund.
We are in a very big way promoting Farmer’s Producers Organisation (FPO). You must be knowing that the Government of India has come up with a very ambitious project to have 10,000 FPO programmes. So, in Assam, we are promoting around 78 FPOs under that programme. Through our own funds, we have also promoted around 100 plus FPOs. The idea is to generate economies of scale by aggregation model so that the farmers and the farmers who are into the activities are able to have economies of scale in production and they are able to sell that product at a better price.
We are also into watershed development projects. Other activities included micro-credit, the promotion of self-help groups, promotion of joint liability groups.
NABARD as of today in Assam, we are there everywhere. We are supporting the state government in infrastructural development. We have given Rs 12,000 crore to Assam for infrastructural development in rural areas whether it be connectivity issues, agricultural sector, social sector like opening of schools in rural areas, public health centres in rural areas, renovation or improving the Anganwadi centres, we are providing all kinds of support to the state. A very innovative project is done in Kaziranga on climate change. We are supporting the national park with around Rs 23 crore to take care of the impact of climate change. That is a very holistic project.
BNE: It has been found that a number of training programmes is conducted by NABARD in the northeastern region. What feedback you have received from the beneficiaries?
CGM: The beneficiaries are very much benefitted. The 60 stalls you are seeing now are the product of the training we have given to them. Whether it is the micro-entrepreneurial development programme or LEDP programmes of NABARD, it is the upscaling and skilling programme of NABARD which has resulted in all these artisans coming forward to this level. Now, they are able to produce and come to the market and sell. Skilling has provided them confidence and they are able to innovate their products.
BNE: What challenges NABARD has faced in doing all these?
CGM: Whenever you get into development, challenges are many. We at NABARD take challenges as an opportunity. Whenever we face any challenge we evolve over ourselves, and we reorient our products. We really want that the rural people get a sustainable livelihood for them.
BNE: What is the revenue earned by NABARD?
CGM: We are a profitable bank. Last year the balance sheet size has crossed Rs 7 lakh crore. It is financially very sound. We are earning our profits. It is not that our pricings are more. We give it a very reasonable rate. We are a very sustainable organisation. Whatever profit we earn we plough it back into society in the form of development activities. We are not an institution to earn. We want to be a sustainable organisation.
BNE: What is the profit of the bank?
CGM: Last year, it was around Rs 3,000-4,000 crore.
BNE: Do you think NABARD has changed the fate of farmers in the state and the country through various financial assistance and literacy programmes?
CGM: Definitely! All types of challenges that we face, we evolve the products. There was a problem with giving loans to people who are not able to get loans from the bank. So, we came out with microcredit products. That has helped these people to avail of loans from the bank. There were problems of small and marginal farmers who were not getting adequate funding from the bank. We came up with the Kisan Credit scheme for this. We are evolving various products day by day and we are improving on that.
BNE: What future goals NABARD has in the area of rural financing?
CGM: For the state, we would like to upscale all our existing development programmes be it tribal development programmes, watershed programmes or capacity building under MEDP and LEDP programmes. We also want to do something great for the small tea growers of Assam. That is one area where a lot of attention and focus needs to be given. There are two lakh small tea growers spread all across the state of Assam, mostly concentrated in the upper Assam area. Now they have the problem of getting credit from the banks and also some other issues. We would like to address this particular sector and work in a mission mode in the next year.
We would like to work more on climate change activities plus infrastructural development, improving fisheries sector, etc.
Again, this year is the International Year of Millets. Assam RO has launched an innovative project of launching 23 projects spreading across 23 districts involving 1150 farmers only on millet cultivation. We are providing end-to-end support. It’s a project involving 3.5 crores. It is a full grant-based project from NABARD.
That way we keep on innovating. Whatever the priority of the Government of India and the Government of Assam is, we align ourselves to the priority and are able to stand with them shoulder to shoulder and take the mandate from them.
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