NABARD has launched a water campaign to cover around one lakh villages in vulnerable and water-stressed areas where groundwater is over exploited, Bankers’ Institute of Rural Development joint director K S Pai said.
Speaking at the 36th Foundation Day of NABARD on BIRD campus here recently, she said NABARD is giving a greater push to promote digital technology adoption among rural masses through the Financial Inclusion Fund. A national-level financial inclusion survey has also been launched, he added.
She said NABARD has touched the lives of 100 million poor rural households through its SHG-Bank Linkage Programme under which more than eight crore rural women have been provided with sustainable rural livelihood opportunities through credit, capacity-building and market linkages.
Under Rural Infrastructure Development Fund, NABARD has cumulatively disbursed Rs 2.30 lakh crore which has helped in creation of additional irrigation potential of 291 lakh hectare, creation of rural road network of Rs 4.28 lakh km, building rural bridges of 10 lakh metres and creation of non-recurring employment of 23 billion man-days which has helped in enhancing income levels in rural areas and also agriculture production and quality of living.
Mangalore University vice chancellor Prof K Byrappa, who was the guest of honour, complimented NABARD for touching the lives crores of rural women through its linkage programme and supporting creation of rural infrastructure in agriculture and social sectors, thus helping in nation-building. He opined that several technological innovations to improve agriculture developed by the research institutes have confined to the labs. He requested NABARD to build necessary ecosystem for the same, so that the technology reaches the farmers.
Karnataka Bank non-executive chairman P Jayaram Bhat, who was the chief guest, released the training calendar of BIRD for the second quarter of 2017-18. He spoke on ‘Sustainable Approach to Doubling of Farmers Income by 2022’.
