National Bank for Agriculture & Rural Development (NABARD) sanctioned loans worth more than Rs 19,100 crore to states for agriculture & allied activities, NABARD Chairman H K Bhanwala said.

The loans were sanctioned under the Rural Infrastructure Development Fund (RIDF) till last week. The government had allocated NABARD Rs 20,000 crore for agriculture & allied activities in the 2013-14 Budget.

In its last meet, NABARD sanctioned Rs 6,000 crore in loans for 33 projects under agricultural & allied sector, 250 and 804 projects under the rural connectivity sector and the social sector, respectively.

Recently, NABARD decreased the refinance rate by 0.20 per cent for state cooperative banks and regional rural banks as well as primary urban cooperative banks.

Sole objective of institution of RIDF was to provide low cost finance support to states and their corporations to help quick completion of projects related to minor & medium irrigation, watershed management, soil conservation, and other forms of rural infrastructure.

NABARD, which came into existence on 12th of July 1982, is an apex Development Bank that mainly facilitates credit flow for development and promotion of agriculture, small-scale industries, cottage & village industries, handicrafts & other rural crafts. It also has the mandate to support all other allied economic activities in rural areas and secure prosperity of rural areas.