Bank Credit to Agriculture in India: Policy, Performance and Issues

This book critically reviews the policy and performance of the agriculture sector in India, with a specific focus on credit in the sector. It draws attention to important issues at a time when the country is drafting its Twelfth Five Year Plan. The book draws on data published by National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD), Reserve Bank of India, and Government of India. The book states that many of the rural poor remain financially excluded due to inefficiencies in formal finance institutions, weak regulatory framework, high transaction costs, and risks associated with lending to agriculture. Improving access to rural finance would require improving the performance of rural financial institutions. The key drivers for the progress of agriculture are the availability of credit, and easy and reliable access to adequate institutional credit. Topics covered in the book include:

• Rural households indebtedness;
• Agricultural banking and credit policy;
• Dispensation of agricultural credit by rural financial institutions;
• NABARD's approach;
• Policy shift from supply-led credit to demand-driven credit.