The National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) has assessed a credit potential of Rs 3.14 lakh crore, reflecting an increase of 37.64% over the previous year under priority sector lending in Haryana for the year 2025-26. The credit potential under agriculture, MSME and other priority sectors, including education and renewable energy, has a share of 35.60%, 57.12% and 7.28%, respectively. NABARD’s State Focus Paper (SFP) was released by Haryana Chief Secretary Dr. Vivek Joshi here today during the State Credit Seminar 2025-26.
Speaking on the occasion, the Chief Secretary appreciated the efforts of NABARD to assess the credit potential under agriculture, MSME, export, education, renewable energy etc. of the state that align with the government’s vision for farmers’ welfare and rural development with emphasis on crop diversification, climate-resilient agriculture, shrimp farming and promoting vegetable clusters.
He urged banks, government departments, NABARD, SLBC, academic institutions and all other stakeholders to synergize coordinated efforts for creating increased employment opportunities in rural areas. He said the State Focus Paper shall act as a benchmark and guiding force for the activities to be undertaken in this year to strengthen the rural economy.
“Haryana has always been at the forefront of agriculture, contributing significantly to India’s food security. Our farmers, with their relentless efforts, have made Haryana the ‘bread basket of India’. However, we must acknowledge the challenges posed by depleting groundwater, fragmented landholdings, growth of MSME sector and climate change, which require urgent and innovative solutions,” Dr. Joshi said.
To maintain the growth of crop loans, concerted efforts are needed to produce more from less land and more crop per drop by enhancing farm productivity, crop diversification, coverage of all eligible farmers through KCC, proper implementation of the expanded KCC scheme in letter and spirit, coverage of farmers under the PMFBY, organic farming, etc.
Farmer Producer Organizations (FPOs) need to be encouraged for collectivization efforts and aggregation of produce. Integrated farming systems, with emphasis on greater diversification should be popularized. Dr. Joshi called for digitising the KCC process through an online portal as done by states like Madhya Pradesh and Tamil Nadu.
In order to bring transparency and efficiency in operations of PACS, the Central Government has launched a PACS computerization project in which NABARD is National Implementing Entity and in our state, 710 PACS are being covered under the scheme. Similarly, NABARD is also implementing the digitization project for Agriculture Rural Development Banks including HSCARDB and 19 DPCARDBs.
Efforts are also being taken to take forward the M-PACS scheme of GoI, he said. The Chief Secretary also appreciated the RBI’s efforts fostering agricultural growth, rural development and financial inclusion in Haryana. He said the Haryana Government is fully aligned with NABARD’s vision.
“We have been actively implementing programs such as micro-irrigation schemes, financial literacy campaigns, and digital initiatives to enhance access to credit and markets. I urge the banking sector to play a proactive role in achieving the credit targets set for priority sectors and to ensure that underserved regions and communities are not left behind,” the Chief Secretary added.
Smt. Nivedita Tiwary, Chief General Manager, highlighted the consultative process to arrive at the credit potential of Rs 3.14 lakh crore of the state by assimilating the potential worked out in Potential Credit linked Plans for all 22 districts of Haryana. She appreciated the need for dovetailing the Credit Potential worked out for all 22 districts by NABARD with the District Credit Plan prepared by Lead Banks.
She reiterated NABARD’s commitment towards addressing the pressing challenges faced by Haryana’s agricultural and rural sectors and promoting sustainable solutions that would benefit the farmers and villagers. Financial inclusion is central to developmental initiatives, especially the computerization of Primary Agricultural Cooperative Societies (PACS) and expansion of mobile ATMs and Business Correspondents (BCs) in rural areas, in order to enhance digital literacy and access to financial services, she said.
Later, the Chief Secretary also took a round of an exhibition organized by NABARD. Senior executives of RBI, banks, senior officers of state government and academic institutions of the state were also present on the occasion.