Nabard Raises Priority Sector Lending Target for West Bengal to Rs 3.8 Lakh Crore

Kolkata, Feb 28 (PTI) National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (Nabard) on Friday said it has increased the priority sector lending target for West Bengal by 20.63 per cent to Rs 3.80 lakh crore for the 2025-26 financial year (FY'26).

The refinancing body prepares the potential linked credit plans for each district of the state through a consultative approach to facilitate finance availability to the priority sector.

These plans assess the potential for priority sector lending by banks, which also highlights the credit deployment trends, infrastructure requirements and market opportunities, Nabard said in a statement.

The projected credit flow for West Bengal during 2025-26 amounting to Rs 3.80 lakh crore towards the priority sector.

The agriculture and allied ancillary activities account for 33.42 per of the total, amounting to Rs 1.27 lakh crore.

There is also a need to focus on farmer-producer organisations (FPOs) with stress on processing and marketing, the statement said.

West Bengal has immense export potential in the field of agriculture, Nabard said.

West Bengal government's Principal Secretary (agriculture) Onkar Singh Meena said credit disbursement in this sector has already reached Rs 75,000 crore, with expectations to touch Rs 1 lakh crore in the current financial year.

The MSME sector of the state holds a credit potential of Rs 2 lakh crore, which constitutes 52.63 per cent of the total. PTI dc