NABARD sanctioned Rs 15,056 crore under the Rural Infrastructure Development Fund (RIDF) for 6,175 rural infrastructure projects in Haryana, covering irrigation, roads, and drinking water. Announced during NABARD's 45th Foundation Day in Chandigarh on July 21, 2026, the event also highlighted 710 digitised PACS, 131 FPOs aggregating 63,369 farmers, and training of over 5,010 rural women since 2022–23 in livelihood activities across the state.

NABARD's RIDF, established in 1995–96, channels low-cost loans to state governments for creating rural infrastructure that commercial banks typically avoid financing due to long gestation periods and low returns. Haryana's Rs 15,056 crore sanction reflects the RIDF's strategic role in bridging the rural infrastructure deficit — covering irrigation canals, rural roads, flood protection, and drinking water supply — that directly determines agricultural productivity and farmer income.

Beyond infrastructure, the Haryana figures reveal NABARD's three-pronged rural strategy: (1) credit infrastructure through PACS computerisation — 710 PACS digitised in Haryana to improve last-mile cooperative credit delivery; (2) collective farming empowerment via 131 FPOs that aggregate 63,369 farmers including 14,017 women, improving market access and price realisation; and (3) livelihood skilling of 5,010 rural women in dairy, food processing, and handicrafts.

For NABARD Grade A aspirants, this event is a goldmine: it demonstrates how NABARD operates simultaneously as a refinancing institution, development agency, and capacity builder. The FPO equity grant model — Rs 60.38 lakh to nine FPOs — aligns with the Government of India's 10,000 FPO scheme under which NABARD is an implementing agency.

For UPSC, this connects to GS3 themes of agricultural infrastructure, cooperative credit, rural livelihoods, and Viksit Bharat 2047 — specifically the role of development finance institutions in state-level rural transformation.