Prahlad Joshi criticises Siddaramaiah on NABARD loan quota remarks

New Delhi, Nov 21 (IANS) Central Minister for Food, Public Distribution and Consumer Affairs Prahlad Joshi on Thursday criticised Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah over the allegations on NABARD’s reduced loan quota for Karnataka.

Speaking at a press conference in New Delhi on Thursday, Joshi provided clarifications regarding National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD)-related issues raised by Siddaramaiah.

He pointed out that the problem is not exclusive to Karnataka, as Siddaramaiah claims.

“In Gujarat, the amount allocated by NABARD for agriculture was Rs 1,800 crore last time, but this time it has been reduced to Rs 1,070 crore. In Rajasthan, where the Congress is in power, it decreased from Rs 4,792 crore to Rs 2,070 crore. In Uttar Pradesh, the amount dropped from Rs 2,700 crore to Rs 920 crore,” said Joshi.

He also stated that in Karnataka, the allocation decreased from Rs 5,600 crore last time to Rs 2,340 crore this time.

He said that NABARD provides cooperative institutions with funds, and it is their responsibility to offer loans to priority sectors like agriculture.

He clarified that the Siddaramaiah might not be fully aware of this process, as the system for NABARD loans has been in place since the time of the Congress government.

“Under the system, nationalised banks, scheduled commercial banks, and private sector banks are required to provide 40 per cent of their loans to agriculture. If banks fail to meet their agricultural loan targets, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) takes the required amount and transfers it to NABARD. NABARD then passes the funds through state cooperative banks to cooperative societies,” he said.

He emphasised that if all banks are fulfilling their agricultural loan targets, NABARD's funding needs decrease.

He stated that Siddaramaiah should appreciate this process, which helps ensure that funds are properly allocated to agriculture.

He also underlined that the ground-level credit for agriculture in Karnataka had increased from 8 per cent to 8.15 per cent compared to the previous year, which indicates that NABARD’s funding has been effectively distributed.

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