NABARD sanctions Rs 300 lakh as soft loan

Agartala, Apr 10 (UNI) The National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) has sanctiond Rs 300 lakh to Tripura as soft loan assistance for the first time.

The amount would be given to Tripura Co-operative Agriculture Rural Development Bank Ltd (TCARDB) for improving the financial health and increasing the business of the bank.

NABARD General Manager V Mohandoss, Tripura Regional Office, said here today that TCARDB is the state level bank catering to the varied credit needs of various sections of the state's economy. This is the only performing Long-term Co-operative credit structure in the North Eastern region and its recoveries are comparatively higher as compared to other financial institutions operating in the state.

NABARD, with a special commitment for the development of the NE region, conducted a joint study with the bank and officials of Registrar of Co-operative Societies (RCS) to suggest measures for sustaining the operations of the bank in the long run and on the basis of the outcome of the study NABARD sanctioned the soft loan assistance of Rs 300 lakh to the bank.

The sanctioned financial assistance would be repaid by the bank in ten years with an initial grace period of three years and the loan amount would bear an interest rate of just three per cent annually.

The TCARDB has prepared an action plan for implementation over the period 2007-2011 as part of business development to attain the viability utilising the funds effectively.

The financial assistance is being extended from the Cooperative Development Fund of NABARD and it is for the first time that such assistance has been sanctioned by NABARD to any financial institution in the country, Mr Ramadoss stated.

UNI