Context: NABARD has announced Rs 700-crore venture capital fund for rural agricultural start-ups.

Key facts:

• This project was launched by Nabventures, an auxiliary unit of NABARD.
• NABARD proposed amount of Rs 500 crore with an option to retain over-subscriptions of Rs 200 crore.
• NABARD has given an anchor commitment for the fund, which will be investing across startups engaged in agriculture, food and rural development space.

Significance and benefits of the fund:

The fund will have a high impact as it will provide a boost to investment ecosystem in the core areas of agriculture, food and improvement of rural livelihoods.

About NABARD:

• It is an apex development and specialized bank established on 12 July 1982 by an act by the parliament of India.
• Its main focus is to uplift rural India by increasing the credit flow for elevation of agriculture & rural non farm sector.
• It was established based on the recommendations of the Committee set up by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) under the chairmanship of Shri B. shivaraman.
• It replaced the Agricultural Credit Department (ACD) and Rural Planning and Credit Cell (RPCC) of Reserve Bank of India, and Agricultural Refinance and Development Corporation (ARDC).
• It has been accredited with “matters concerning policy, planning and operations in the field of credit for agriculture and other economic activities in rural areas in India”.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) recently sold its entire stakes in the National Bank for Agriculture & Rural Development (NABARD) and National Housing Bank. The decision to divest its entire stake was taken based on the recommendations of the second Narasimham Committee. The government now holds a 100 per cent stake in both NHB and NABARD.