Blitz Bureau
NEW DELHI: 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 July 16.
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.
