Staff Reporter
YUPIA, 2 Feb: National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) Chairman GR Chintala called on Deputy Chief Minister Chowna Mein to explore the probable collaborative approach for boosting the process of agriculture and rural development.
Chintala, who is on his maiden visit to the state, also discussed a wide array of developmental issues of the state with Mein.
The chairman also met Chief Secretary Naresh Kumar and other senior state government officials at the Civil Secretariat for furthering the cooperation between NABARD and the state government to build a climate resilient Arunachal, and infrastructure development, involving financial assistance from NABARD.
The chief secretary was hopeful that the NABARD will play an important role in realizing the Act East Policy of the Government of India and tap the potential of the north eastern states in general and Arunachal Pradesh in particular in fullest through their various expertise ventures.
Chintala said that “the NABARD is willing to give more than the state’s expectation” and further expressed the NABARD’s desire
to continue the association with the state by partnering with the state government in its development initiatives.
As per the latest report (2020-2021), the Ground Level Credit flow to priority sector was Rs 439.34 crore as against the Annual Credit Plan of Rs 705.50 crore. The borrowing power of the state government from the NABARD has increased to Rs 251.17 crore since 2018-19, which has been enhanced to Rs 400 crore in 2021-22.
Major issues, such as credit flow, banking penetration, financial inclusion, climate change adaptation and mitigation, building smart agriculture and robust rural infrastructure were discussed.
The chairman said that NABARD has intervention in diverse areas and emphasized on cooperation from the state government and other development partners in the state.
In order to boost banking connectivity in the state, the chairman, along with the chief secretary flagged-off two mobile ATM vans from the Civil Secretariat, sanctioned by NABARD to the Arunachal Pradesh State Apex Cooperative Bank Ltd.
Apex Bank Administrator Habung Lampung said the bank as of now has four mobile ATM vans in operation, and informed that the Apex Bank has opened many micro ATMs in various branches across the state.
Thereafter, Chintala inaugurated the Rural Self Employment Training Institute (RSETI) building here in Yupia on the same day.
The RSETI, which imparts training for developing skills, such as mushroom cultivation, tailoring and other vocational courses, has been functional for some months and a few batches of people have already availed the courses.
The NABARD chairman, who is on a three-day visit to the state, while interacting with reporters, informed that many welfare projects pertaining to agriculture will be implemented in the state in the days to come.
He further informed that 17 mini hydel projects have been sanctioned in some villages bordering China recently, and 50 more such projects are awaited. These projects are expected to provide electricity in the border villages.
Chintala also visited a rural mart named- Brand Arunachal, supported by NABARD and took stock of the products sold and suggested innovations and branding as booster of marketing indigenous creativity of the local populace.
Agriculture Development Commissioner Rajeev Verma, PWD Commissioner Kaling Tayeng, Planning Commissioner PS Lokhande, Commissioner to CM Sonam Chombey, NABARD General Manager Partho Saha and other stakeholders were also present. (With CS PR Cell inputs)
