The Business Bytes
TBB BUREAU
BHUBANESWAR, SEPT 16, 2021
The Odisha government on Thursday urged the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) to increase its loan assistance to Rs 10,000 crore for different schemes in the state.
During an interactive session between the state government and NABARD at the Lok Seva Bhawan here today, Chief Secretary Suresh Mohapatra said that there is need for higher investment in rural roads, irrigation, agricultural development, social infrastructure, creation of new livelihood opportunities and others in the post-Covid scenario.
Mohapatra urged NABARD to increase its loan assistance to Rs 10,000 crore under schemes like the rural infrastructure development fund (RIDF), rural infrastructure assistance to states (RIAS), long-term irrigation fund (LITF), agricultural marketing infrastructure and others.
He said that Odisha is prepared to implement projects of worth Rs 5,000 crore under the RIDF, Rs, 4,500 crore under the RIAS and Rs 500 crore under the LITF.
More investment is needed for building disaster-resilient infrastructure in the state because its unique geo-physical location makes it prone to frequent disasters, opined Development Commissioner Pradeep Jena.
Finance Department Principal Secretary Vishal Dev underscored the need for more assistance from NABARD in financial inclusion.
NABARD Chairman G R Chintala assured that the bank would “do the best in enhancing its involvement with the state”.
Stating that Odisha is a leading state in cent per cent utilisation of the RIDF funds, Chintala said that the state “has a strongly-motivated administrative machinery and robust mechanism for project implementation.”
