NABARD to hire Boston Consultancy to aid profitability
14 Jan 2010
The National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) plans to appoint managing consulting firm Boston Consultancy Group (BCG) to prepare a roadmap for its restructuring, NABARD chairman Umesh Chandra Sarangi said yesterday.
Speaking to newspersons on the sidelines of a state credit seminar in Bangalore yesterday, Sarangi said BCG will prepare the restructuring plan for NABARD to make it a commercially viable entity.
''Yes, we are in the process of appointing BCG ... in some more time it will start its study,'' he said on the sidelines of a state credit seminar. ''Not right now for disinvestment,'' he added, as NABARD is on the list of 25 public sector undertakings slated by the centre for disinvestment.
He said NABARD was aiming at forming one lakh 'joint liability groups' of farmers, particularly small and marginal ones, in the next financial year. Under this initiative, the groups would be trained how to work and to access inputs and capital together from banks under joint liability.
Sarangi said the formation of these self-help groups would reduce the risk perception of agricultural credit by the banks and simultaneously ensure better access to capital for agricultural activity. ''NABARD will provide the money for setting up these groups,'' he added.
He said NABARD has undergone a change from being a development finance institution to a development facilitating and financing institution. ''We have our own model of development and we will raise resources internally to implement development projects,'' he said. It has taken up watershed projects in 18 districts.
On the implementation of the Vaidyanathan Committee report on cooperatives, Sarangi said Rs7,400 crore had been disbursed for strengthening cooperatives. As many as 25 states had signed agreements, while 13 states had amended the relevant legislation to make primary agricultural cooperative societies (PACS) financially viable.
''We have already given training to 80,000 PACS employees and a common account system has been introduced,'' Sarangi said.