ARDB playing significant role in strengthening rural economy: CM

Shimla, Feb 5 (UNI) Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh today said Agricultural Rural Development Bank (ARDB) was playing a significant role in economic upliftment of the farmers by providing them loans at low interest of rate.

Addressing a seminar of the Bank at Ghumarwin in Bilaspur district, he said the government has directed the Bank to disburse Rs 150 crore loan to the farmers of the state during the next two years.

Mr Singh said his government would also consider bank's proposal to obtain more loans from NCDC for further disbursement to the farmers at low rate of interest.

The bank had been assigned the prime responsibility to cater to the developmental and economic activities of the agriculturists of the state and to help the farming community explore employment and self-employment avenues in the agriculture sector, he said.

He said the bank had advanced a loan of over Rs. 650 crore to the farmers since its inception and added that the bank should ensure speedy recovery of the loan advanced so that it could also be extended to other deserving farmers.

The bank had succeeded in acquiring working capital of Rs. 359.47 crore and had advanced a loan of Rs. 239.75 crore during the last three years, he said, adding that this had benefited 45,000 borrowers.

The Chief Minister said it should also diversify its activities besides helping the farmers to adopt modern farming techniques to maximise their yield from limited land holdings.

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