Bhubaneswar, April 26: The National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (Nabard) has given the state financial support of Rs 14,716 crore during the 2016-17 financial year - which is an increase of 76 per cent compared to the previous year's assistance of Rs 8,368 crore.

The organisation is instrumental in grounding rural innovations and social enterprises in the rural hinterlands.

Addressing a news conference here, Nabard chief general manager K.C. Panigrahi said: "The support to the state ranges from state government, banks, corporations to other agencies, such as NGOs and producers' organisations."

He said that over the years, Odisha had become one of the biggest beneficiaries under the Rural Infrastructure Development Fund (RIDF) of Nabard - under which loans are extended to the state government for critical rural infrastructure projects in sectors, such as irrigation, roads and bridges.

"The total resource support under this fund to the state government reached Rs 2,406 crore during 2016-17. One of the major projects sanctioned during the year is for the establishment of a dairy plant in Cuttack of five-lakh-litre-per-day capacity by the Odisha State Co-operative Milk Producers' Federation (Omfed) with the RIDF loan assistance of Rs 232.13 crore."

Panigrahi said a loan support of Rs 415.77 crore had been sanctioned for construction of projects under the Mukhya Mantri Sadak Yojana. Nabard also gave its nod to 12 irrigation projects in Kalahandi and Nuapada districts involving a loan assistance of Rs 270.17 crore.

Six incomplete irrigation projects in the state, such as the Lower Indra, Upper Indravati, Rukura, Anandpur barrage, Ret irrigation and the Kanupur one, would be fast-tracked under the Long Term Irrigation Fund.

"We have sanctioned Rs 1,230.96 crore for the purpose, out of which Rs 188.60 crore has been disbursed during the year," he said.

Panigrahi said: "We are also supporting co-operative banks as they play a major role in giving finance to the farmers. During 2016-17, refinance for short-term loans to the tune of Rs 9,155.00 crore was disbursed to the co-operative banks."

To promote capital formation in agriculture, Nabard has disbursed long-term refinance of Rs 475.59 crore to various commercial banks, the Odisha State Co-Operative Bank and a micro finance institution during the last financial year. "Besides, Rs 84.79 crore was extended on soft terms to the Odisha State Co-Operative Bank under Long Term Rural Credit Fund," he said.

The Nabard chief said that to supplement the bank efforts in the state for supporting various activities connected to agriculture, Nabard had also started a direct lending window. "Under this facility, an amount of Rs 2,124.00 crore was disbursed to the Odisha State Civil Supplies Corporation for its paddy procurement operations during the year 2016-17," he said.

Besides assisting co-operative banks, Nabard is also giving support to watershed development projects and stress on launching projects benefiting the tribal communities.

"We are also promoting the registered 100 farmers and producers' organisations covering 28 districts of the state," he said.