NABARD Grade A Current Affairs — 13 August 2026

India's financial inclusion drive, anchored by Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY) launched on August 28, 2014, has enrolled over 53 crore beneficiaries by 2024, with deposits exceeding ₹2.3 lakh crore. Over 55% of Jan Dhan accounts belong to women, and 67% are in rural or semi-urban areas. The scheme provides zero-balance accounts, RuPay debit cards, ₹2 lakh accident insurance, and ₹30,000 life cover, forming India's foundational JAM Trinity infrastructure.

Financial inclusion means ensuring every individual and household has access to useful and affordable financial products and services — including transactions, payments, savings, credit, and insurance — delivered in a responsible and sustainable way. In India, the policy architecture rests on three pillars: the JAM Trinity (Jan Dhan accounts + Aadhaar + Mobile), the Business Correspondent (BC) model for last-mile delivery, and the Priority Sector Lending (PSL) framework mandating banks to direct 40% of Adjusted Net Bank Credit (ANBC) toward underserved sectors.

PMJDY is the world's largest financial inclusion programme, recognised by the Guinness World Records. It operationalises the RBI's financial inclusion mandate through commercial banks, RRBs, and cooperative banks. The scheme's Overdraft (OD) facility — up to ₹10,000 per account — acts as a micro-credit lifeline. NABARD complements this through SHG-Bank Linkage Programme (SHG-BLP) and MUDRA Yojana, targeting agricultural and rural credit gaps.

For RBI, financial inclusion connects to Priority Sector targets, BC regulation, and Payments Bank licensing. For NABARD, it links to rural credit flow, RIDF, and SHG loan limits under DAY-NRLM. For UPSC, it frames welfare delivery, DBT (Direct Benefit Transfer), and governance reform. The examiner tests whether the aspirant can distinguish scheme parameters, implementing agencies, and underlying policy rationale — not just scheme names.

India's agriculture sector, employing over 54% of the workforce, has seen transformative policy interventions across crop science, rural credit, and allied sectors. Key schemes include PM-KISAN (₹6,000/year direct transfer), PM Fasal Bima Yojana (crop insurance), and NABARD-led rural credit programs. Allied sectors — animal husbandry, fisheries, and horticulture — now receive dedicated missions. MSP revisions, PM-KUSUM for solar irrigation, and the Agricultural Infrastructure Fund (₹1 lakh crore) define the current policy architecture reshaping Indian farming.

Indian agriculture policy operates across three interlocking layers: income support, risk mitigation, and infrastructure creation.

Income support is anchored by PM-KISAN (Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi), launched in February 2019, which transfers ₹6,000 per year in three equal installments of ₹2,000 directly to landholding farmers. Over 11 crore farmers are registered. This is a Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) scheme under the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers' Welfare.

Risk mitigation works through PM Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY), where farmers pay a premium of maximum 2% for Kharif crops, 1.5% for Rabi crops, and 5% for commercial/horticultural crops. The balance premium is shared equally by the Centre and States.

Infrastructure creation is channeled through the Agricultural Infrastructure Fund (AIF) — a ₹1 lakh crore financing facility for post-harvest management and agri-logistics. NABARD plays a central role in rural credit via Kisan Credit Card (KCC), short-term cooperative credit, and refinancing state cooperative banks.

Allied sectors are addressed through dedicated missions: PM Matsya Sampada Yojana (fisheries, ₹20,050 crore), National Animal Disease Control Programme (NADCP), and the National Horticulture Mission.

For NABARD aspirants, the exact financial outlays, premium percentages, installment structures, and implementing ministries are the most frequently blanked-out data points. For UPSC aspirants, the policy rationale — food security, farmer income doubling, and climate resilience — is the core angle.

Union Minister Durgadas Uikey informed Rajya Sabha that PM Narendra Modi launched Pradhan Mantri Janjatiya Unnat Gram Abhiyan (PM-JUGA) to uplift tribal communities in villages with significant Scheduled Tribe populations. The scheme targets Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs) and tribal-majority gram panchayats. It aims to saturate these villages with government welfare schemes across health, education, livelihood, and infrastructure, converging multiple central programmes under one coordinated tribal development framework.

PM-JUGA (Pradhan Mantri Janjatiya Unnat Gram Abhiyan) is a convergence-based tribal development scheme launched in 2024. Its core design principle is scheme saturation — rather than creating parallel delivery silos, PM-JUGA maps all existing central government schemes (PM Awas Yojana, PM Jan Dhan, Jal Jeevan Mission, Ayushman Bharat, etc.) and ensures every eligible tribal household in covered villages actually receives those entitlements.

The scheme covers approximately 63,000 villages across 549 districts in 30 states and union territories where Scheduled Tribes constitute a significant share of the population. Within these, Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs) — the most marginalised sub-group of STs — receive prioritised coverage.

The Ministry of Tribal Affairs is the nodal implementing ministry. PM-JUGA is distinct from the earlier PM PVTG Development Mission (2023 Budget) which allocated ₹15,000 crore specifically for PVTGs; PM-JUGA is broader in scope and uses convergence rather than fresh allocation as its primary tool.

For UPSC aspirants, PM-JUGA connects to governance questions on tribal welfare delivery, Fifth Schedule areas, and the distinction between welfare saturation and scheme creation. For NABARD aspirants, rural credit penetration and SHG linkages in tribal belts are directly relevant dimensions of this scheme.