NABARD
India's Apex Agricultural Development Bank
NABARD (National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development) was established on July 12, 1982, on the recommendations of the B. Sivaraman Committee, by merging the agricultural credit functions of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and the former Agricultural Refinance and Development Corporation (ARDC). Headquartered in Mumbai, NABARD is India's apex development financial institution for agriculture, rural industries, and allied activities. It does not lend directly to farmers — instead, it refinances lending institutions (cooperative banks, RRBs, State Land Development Banks) and supervises rural cooperative credit structure.
- NABARD established: July 12, 1982 (NABARD Act, 1981); dedicated to the nation by PM Indira Gandhi on November 5, 1982.
- Ownership: Government of India (99.6% stake); RBI holds the remaining share.
- Functions: Refinancing, credit planning (district-level Potential Linked Credit Plans — PLPs), supervision of cooperative credit, development support for rural infrastructure (RIDF — Rural Infrastructure Development Fund).
- NABARD's Rural Infrastructure Development Fund (RIDF): Created in 1995-96; funds state government projects in agriculture and rural infrastructure; corpus of over ₹7 lakh crore disbursed cumulatively.
- Dairy Entrepreneurship Development Scheme (DEDS): Back-ended capital subsidy for setting up modern dairy units; 25% subsidy (33.33% for SC/ST farmers) up to specified limits.
● Tracked since February 14, 2026 · last seen March 13, 2026 · updates as the daily brief publishes