State Of Rural Finance In India

"This report examines the policy framework, institutional structure, trends and patterns in the flow of financial services, product suitability, and efficacy of financial services both in terms of penetration and customer satisfaction. It has been organized into savings, credit, insurance policy issues, repayment performance, and products. The performances of NABARD, non-farm sector, microfinance, and cooperative banking reform-considering the specific and topical nature of these institutions/segments-are also discussed."

Annotation This book examines the current level and pattern of access to finance for India's rural households, evaluates various approaches for delivering financial services, analyzes what lies behind the lack of adequate financial access, and identifies what it would take to improve access to finance.

Targeted credit without institution- building in rural financial institutions is alsmost always a recipe for prolonged dependence on donor or state funds and bailouts.

Agricultural finance has come a long way in the past 15 years. After the concerted efforts of GOI, supported by RBI and NABARD, towards doubling of agricultural credit flow in 2004-2005, the growth in credit flow to the sector has been robust with an impressive CAGR of 18% between 2004--2005 and 2019-2020. While outreach increased, the Terms of Trade (Farmers and Non-farmers) has largely been on a declining trend, reflecting the underlying stressed conditions in farming. There is a challenge of inclusion, where small and marginal farmers continue to struggle for suitable and affordable credit products and access. This book summarizes the current state of agricultural finance in India, highlighting policy blind spots and grey areas. It documents the important advancements made in the agri-finance space in the last few years. The book covers various aspects of Agri-Finance Policy; institutional appetite and architecture for agriculture credit; formal financial services for enterprises in agriculture; agri-business, including FPOs; and innovations in credit, insurance, delivery mechanisms for agri-sector.

The agricultural sector occupies a key position in India's economy. It provides employment to about 65% of the working population of India. Being the backbone of India's economy, agriculture has been treated as a priority sector for the allocation of institutional credit. The low growth rate of agriculture in the past few years has further strengthened the channels of credit flow to this sector. Micro credit has emerged as a visible credit channel to the poor, as their access to conventional credit channels is constrained by the requirement of collateral and high transaction cost. Micro finance is routed through Self-Help Groups (SHGs). Over the years, the SHG-Bank Linkage Program - which includes commercial banks, regional rural banks, and co-operative banks - has emerged as the major micro finance program in the country. This book, authored by experts in the field of agricultural finance, provides an in-depth analysis of the current state of agricultural/rural finance in India, the emergence of micro finance, financial inclusion efforts, and related matters.

Since independence, the field of rural credit has traversed a long terrain. This book is a good synthesis of the evolution and development of the domain from a theoretical as well as practical perspective. It is a fundamental literature on rural finance mechanisms as well as financial inclusion initiatives in India. Although the field of rural credit is vast and specialised, the authors have carefully picked up the most important components of this domain, which will be immensely useful to readers to get first-hand knowledge on the subject. While it traces the important institutional mechanisms of rural and agricultural credit in India, it also discusses the emerging paradigms of rural finance and ICT interventions, which can potentially restructure delivery mechanisms to encourage product innovation for serving the financial needs of those at the bottom of the pyramid population. The authors have attempted to cover every important aspect of rural finance by incorporating relevant discussions on institutions, governance, policy framework, schemes, and practices along with issues and concerns in the area of agricultural finance, rural credit and financial inclusion. The text has been woven in a cohesive manner so that the reader can appreciate the historic milestones while comprehending the present situation. Each chapter has been pinned to the larger developmental context to drive home the key issues concerning this field.

Agricultural finance has come a long way in the past 15 years. After the concerted efforts of GOI, supported by RBI and NABARD, towards doubling of agricultural credit flow in 2004-2005, the growth in credit flow to the sector has been robust with an impressive CAGR of 18% between 2004--2005 and 2019-2020. While outreach increased, the Terms of Trade (Farmers and Non-farmers) has largely been on a declining trend, reflecting the underlying stressed conditions in farming. There is a challenge of inclusion, where small and marginal farmers continue to struggle for suitable and affordable credit products and access. This book summarizes the current state of agricultural finance in India, highlighting policy blind spots and grey areas. It documents the important advancements made in the agri-finance space in the last few years. The book covers various aspects of Agri-Finance Policy; institutional appetite and architecture for agriculture credit; formal financial services for enterprises in agriculture; agri-business, including FPOs; and innovations in credit, insurance, delivery mechanisms for agri-sector.

Traditionally, rural communities in India have taken care of their own financial needs. This study examines the experiences of a district in Maharashtra and argues that deficiencies in the services of the formal sector have stimulated the appeal and activities of informal finance agents.

Looking to examples in Thailand and Bangladesh, this book enumerates the various factors which have been instrumental in weakening the rural credit agencies set up to relieve rural poverty in developing countries.