New Delhi, August 27 (APAC Media): The National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) and the National Bank for Financing Infrastructure and Development (NaBFID) have signed an MoU to strengthen financing for infrastructure projects with strong rural and agricultural linkages.
The partnership will combine NABARD’s expertise in rural and agricultural infrastructure with NaBFID’s infrastructure-financing capabilities.
It is expected to improve access to long-term, competitively priced finance for rural infrastructure and agricultural value-chain projects.
Joint Financing for Rural Infrastructure Projects
Under the agreement, NABARD and NaBFID will explore joint financing opportunities, knowledge sharing and innovative funding solutions for commercially viable projects.
Their cooperation will cover several stages of the infrastructure project lifecycle, including:
- Project identification and structuring
- Project appraisal and due diligence
- Credit structuring and pricing
- Financial modelling
- Debt syndication
- Joint project monitoring
- Infrastructure advisory services
The institutions will identify suitable financing arrangements for projects that have strong rural linkages and commercial viability.
Focus on Connectivity, Agriculture, Essential Services
The partnership will focus on infrastructure that can strengthen rural connectivity, agricultural value chains and essential services.
Key areas include:
- Water and sanitation
- Irrigation
- Post-harvest storage
- Cold-chain infrastructure
- Terminal markets
- Rural roads and bridges
- Warehousing
- Compressed biogas (CBG)
- Agricultural value chains
- Public Private Partnership (PPP) projects
The collaboration is expected to support better infrastructure capacity, improve market access and contribute to stronger rural and agricultural ecosystems.
Joint Capacity Building on Infrastructure Finance
NABARD and NaBFID will also undertake joint capacity-building programmes through their respective training institutions.
The programmes will facilitate knowledge exchange and strengthen institutional expertise in infrastructure financing, project structuring, financial models and the development of bankable projects.
Focus on Rural-Urban Connectivity
NABARD Chairman Shaji Krishnan V. said the partnership could help develop financially sustainable and market-based financing structures for rural infrastructure and agricultural value chains.
The collaboration is also expected to contribute towards narrowing the rural-urban divide by improving access to finance for infrastructure development in rural areas.
Infrastructure Support to Strengthen Farmer Incomes
NaBFID Managing Director Rajkiran Rai G. highlighted the potential for the partnership to support commercially viable projects in sectors such as food processing, storage and cold-chain infrastructure.
Improved infrastructure in these areas could strengthen value-chain efficiency, enhance market connectivity and contribute to higher farmer incomes and rural economic activity.
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