Guwahati: The National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) has projected a credit potential of Rs 3,910.91 crore for Meghalaya under priority sector lending by banks for the financial year 2025-26.
NABARD estimates the credit allocation to include Rs 1,461.21 crore (37.36%) for the agriculture sector, Rs 2,063.64 crore (52.77%) for the MSME sector, and Rs 386.07 crore (9.87%) for other priority sectors such as housing and education loans.
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In a statement released during a workshop, NABARD stated that the primary focus for FY 2025-26 would be strengthening rural infrastructure, especially roads, storage, agro/food processing facilities, and promoting agro-climatic resilient practices.
At the workshop, Additional Chief Secretary Dr. P. Shakil Ahammed, the chief guest, unveiled the State Focus Paper for 2025-26, prepared by NABARD, during the State Credit Seminar in Shillong.
While addressing the gathering, Dr. Ahammed praised NABARD’s efforts in rural development and encouraged stakeholders to engage directly with communities to better understand their challenges and opportunities.
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Meanwhile, General Manager and Officer-in-Charge (OIC) JR Blah highlighted Meghalaya’s achievements in the agriculture and MSME sectors during 2023-24.
She also discussed NABARD’s digital initiatives, including the creation of a Data Integrity Centre at its head office to support policy advocacy, action research, and development projects.
This year, NABARD introduced digital Potential Linked Plans (PLP), digital State Focus Papers (SFP), and the e-Kisan Credit Card (eKCC) portal as part of this digital transformation.
The OIC further shared that the dovetailing of the Annual Credit Plan (ACP) 2024-25 with the SFP 2024-25 stood at 95.72%.
She urged the State Level Bankers’ Committee (SLBC) to align ACP targets for 2025-26 with the State Focus Paper 2025-26, particularly for agriculture and MSME lending. This alignment is key to achieving Meghalaya’s goal of a USD 10 billion economy by 2028.
The seminar was attended by senior officials from various government departments, banks, RBI, Lead District Managers, SLBC representatives, NGOs, and other stakeholders.