New Delhi, July 16 (IANS) India’s ground level credit disbursed to the agriculture sector has surged to Rs 32.50 lakh crore for FY 2025-26 which marks a more than fourfold jump from Rs 8 lakh crore in FY 2014–15, according to an official factsheet released on Thursday. The rural credit ecosystem has expanded by a robust 13 per cent every year during FY2014-15 to FY2023-24. To enhance ground level credit (GLC) in agriculture, the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) provides refinance support to banks to supplement their resources for short-term and long-term lending to agriculture and allied sectors, the factsheet states.The growing reach of formal rural finance is reflected in NABARD's Rural Economic Conditions and Sentiments Survey (May 2026). About 77.2 per cent of rural households reported higher consumption levels, reflecting rising purchasing power and sustained demand. Access to formal credit has also expanded significantly. Around 51 per cent of households relying exclusively on formal sources and over 27 per cent accessing both institutional and non-institutional channels.

In rural areas, there were 41,464 scheduled commercial bank branches in 2014. This increased by over 35 per cent to 56,193 rural branches by July 2025, playing a vital role in rural credit delivery. There are also regional rural banks (RRBs) operating across States and Union Territories, having a branch network of over 22,000 in 700 districts.Besides cooperative banks and primary agricultural credit societies have played an important role in expanding institutional credit by promoting banking habits among the poor in remote areas. As per RBI and NABARD, the co-operative network includes 1,458 Urban Cooperative Banks, 34 State Co-operative Banks and 352 District Central Co-operative Banks.The Government’s policy framework for rural credit comprises various measures to ensure uninterrupted credit flow for rural development initiatives such as Priority Sector Lending (PSL) for the agriculture being part of a mandatory framework set by the RBI. The guidelines apply to all banks which are required to allocate at least 18 per cent of their Adjusted Net Bank Credit or Credit Equivalent of Off-Balance Sheet Exposures, whichever is higher, for the agriculture sector.

There is also a focus on poverty alleviation programmes targeting the poor such as DAY-NRLM. It organises rural poor households into SHGs and supports them in increasing incomes and improving their quality of life.The programme is being implemented across the country. As of July 10, 2026, over 19.83 lakh SHGs are operational with loan disbursement of Rs 13.28 lakh-crore recorded since inception.Around 50,548 'Bank Sakhis' have been deployed, supporting SHGs in accessing bank credit of over Rs 12.18 lakh crore since 2013-14, as on February 2026.Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY) also plays a key role in the development of marginalised communities. As on June 24, 2026, over 58.63 crore Jan-Dhan accounts have been opened, with deposits exceeding Rs 3 lakh crore. Of these, 32.68 crore accounts (55.7 per cent) belong to women, and 45.62 crore accounts (77.8 per cent) are in rural and semi-urban areas.

/IANS