NABARD is set up as an apex Development Bank with a mandate for facilitating credit flow for

promotion and development of agriculture, small-scale industries, cottage and village industries,
handicrafts and other rural crafts. It also has the mandate to support all other allied economic
activities in rural areas, promote integrated and sustainable rural development and secure
prosperity of rural areas

Some of the milestones in NABARD's activities are:

    • Refinance disbursement under ST-Agri & Others and MT-Conversion/ Liquidity support
aggregated Rs.16952.83 crore during 2007-08.     • Refinance disbursement under Investment
Credit to commercial banks, state cooperative banks, state cooperative agriculture and rural
development banks, RRBs and other eligible financial institutions during 2007-08 aggregated
Rs.9046.27 crore.     •
Through the Rural Infrastructure Development Fund (RIDF) Rs.8034.93 crores were
disbursed during 2007-08. With this, a cumulative amount of Rs.74073.41 crore has been
sanctioned for 280227 projects as on 31 March 2008 covering irrigation, rural roads and
bridges, health and education, soil conservation, drinking water schemes, flood protection,
forest management etc.
    • Under Watershed Development Fund with a corpus of Rs.613.71 crore as on 31 March
2008, 416 projects in 94 districts of 14 states have benefited.     • Farmers now enjoy hassle
free access to credit and security through 714.68 lakh Kisan Credit Cards that have been
issued through a vast rural banking network.     • Under the Farmers' Club Programme, a total
of 28226 clubs covering 61789 villages in 555 districts have been formed, helping farmers
get access to credit, technology and extension services.      

Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI)

Origin & Objectives

Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) was established in April 1990 under an Act of Indian Parliament
as the principal financial institution for :

 Promotion
 Financing
 Development of industry in the small scale sector
 Co-ordinating the functions of other institutions engaged in similar activities

Since its inception, SIDBI has been assisting the entire spectrum of SSI Sector including the tiny, village and cottage
industries through suitable schemes tailored to meet the requirement of setting up of new projects, expansion,
diversification, modernisation and rehabilitation of existing units.

Social Sector:

The social sector expenditure is proposed to be increased to Rs 1,608.87 bn during

FY12 an increase of 17% over the previous year. It amounts to 36.40% of the total
plan allocation.

Human Resource Development and Social Justice:

  An allocation of Rs 103.30 bn for Integrated Child Development Services.
 An allocation made for Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment
Guarantee Scheme amounting to Rs 400 bn in FY12 as compared to Rs 401
bn in FY11.
 An allocation of Rs 29.14 bn under the ‘Swaranjayanti Gram Swarozgar
Yojana’ (SGSY) for establishing micro-enterprises in rural areas. At least 50%
of the Swarozgaries will be SCs/STs, 40% women and 3% disabled. It has
been decided to restructure SGSY into National Rural
Livelihood Mission (NRLM).
 To create in the course of the year “India Microfinance Equity Fund” with a
corpus of Rs 1 bn with SIDBI. Government considering putting in place
appropriate regulatory framework to protect the interest of small borrowers.
 To empower women and promote their Self Help Groups (SHGs) creation of a
“Women’s SHG’s Development Fund” with a corpus of Rs 5 bn.
 Relaxation of exit norms under the pension scheme “Swavalamban” whereby
a subscriber under Swavalamban will be allowed to exit at the age of 50 years
instead of 60 years or a minimum tenure of 20 years whichever is later.
Moreover, proposal to extend the benefit of
Government contribution from three to five years for all subscribers of
Swavalamban who enroll during FY11 and FY12.
 Under the on-going Indira Gandhi National Old Age Pension Scheme for BPL
beneficiaries, the eligibility for pension is proposed to be reduced from 65
years at present to 60 years. Further, for those who are 80 years and above,
the pension amount is being raised from Rs 200 at present to Rs 500 per
month.
 Existing scheme of interest subvention of 1% on housing loan further
liberalised.
 An allocation of Rs 5.20 bn for Indira Gandhi Matritva Sahyog Yojana.
 The plan outlay for Women and Child Development is proposed to be
increased to Rs 126.50 bn in FY12 from Rs 110 bn in FY11.
 An allocation of Rs 7.50 bn for Rajiv Gandhi Scheme for Empowerment of
Adolescent Girls.
 The plan outlay of the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment is
proposed to be enhanced to Rs 53.75 bn in FY12, marking an increase of
19.40% as compared to FY11.
 The plan allocation for the Ministry of Minority Affairs is proposed to be
increased to Rs 28.50 bn for FY12 from Rs 26 bn in FY11.
 Increase the budget allocation for primitive tribal groups to Rs 2.44 bn in
FY12 from Rs 1.85 bn in FY11.
 For the first time, specific allocations are being earmarked towards Scheduled
Castes Subplan and Tribal Sub-plan.

Regional Development:

 In order to boost development in the North Eastern Region and Special

Category States, the allocation for special assistance almost doubled to Rs 80
 bn for FY12 as compared to FY11. Out of this, Rs 54 bn allocated as untied
Special Central Assistance.
 To give a boost to the development of backward regions, the allocation under
the Backward Regions Grant Fund increased to Rs 98.90 bn in FY12 from Rs
73 bn in FY11, an increase of over 35%.
 The Government’s special support to Jammu & Kashmir is anchored in Rs 280
bn Prime Minister’s Reconstruction Plan. In addition, for the current year,
about Rs 80 bn has been provided for the State’s development needs.
 Allocation made in FY12 to meet the infrastructure needs for Ladakh (Rs 1
bn) and Jammu region (Rs 1 bn).
 Funds allocated under Integrated Action Plan (IAP) for addressing problems
related to Left Wing extremism affected districts. 60 selected Tribal and
backward districts provided with 100% block grant of Rs 250 mn and Rs 300
mn per district during FY11 and FY12 respectively.

Positive+:
By allocating 36.40% of the total plan outlay for the social sector during FY12, the
Government has reiterated its emphasis for the upliftment of the weaker sections of
the country. In order to enhance financial inclusion, a dedicated fund with a corpus
of Rs 1 bn have been created for smaller MFIs besides, forming a Women’s Self Help
Group’s Development Fund which would enhance the empowerment of women.

The Government has extended its thrust towards the development of education in
the budget by enhancing the plan allocation by 24% over the previous budget.
Emphasis has also been laid on developing vocational education to improve the
employability of the youth in addition to making
provision for National Skill Development Fund. The Government has also made
special allocation for boosting higher education in the country.

While the senior citizens (BPL beneficiaries) have been given a special attention
under the pension schemes, the Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana has been extended
to cover unorganised sector workers in hazardous mining and associated industries.
The Government has also paid due attention for further development of the
backward regions, allocating funds for the infrastructure needs for Ladakh and
Kashmir besides directing funds for addressing problems related to Left Wing
extremism affected districts. Moreover, for the first time, specific allocations have
been earmarked towards Scheduled Castes Sub-plan and Tribal Sub-plan. Besides,
the Government’s
focus on drinking water, health and sanitation is another positive aspect for the
social sector in this budget.