Co-op credit system gets $600mn WB boost

from The Business Standard

The World Bank today sanctioned a $600 million financial assistance for restructuring of India’s rural credit cooperatives to improve access to finance for poor farmers.

The Strengthening Rural Credit Cooperatives Project will reform and revitalise 31 state cooperative banks, 367 district central cooperative banks and over 100,000 primary agricultural credit societies.

"Better access to finance for India’s rural poor is absolutely critical for higher rural growth, for reducing inequality, and ultimately, alleviating poverty," said Isabel Guerrero, World Bank Country Director for India.

The 12 states which have signed up to the reform programme are - Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Bihar, Gujarat, Harayana, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Orissa, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and West Bengal.

According to World Bank estimates, 87% of marginal farmers and 70% of small farmers have no access to credit from a formal financial institution in India.