Hyderabad: The 45th Foundation Day of National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) was celebrated by Telangana Regional Office on 16 July 2026 at its Office premises in Hyderabad. Shri M. Dana Kishore, IAS, Spl. Chief Secretary, Panchayati Raj & Rural Development, Government of Telangana, was the Chief Guest. Other prominent dignitaries who graced the celebrations include, Shri Naveen Nicolas, IAS, Commissioner & Director, School Education, Govt of Telangana, Shri Chinmoy Kumar, Regional Director, Reserve Bank of India, Telangana, Shri Neelesh Dwivedi, CGM, SBI & Chairman SLBC, Sri M Ravindra Babu, Chief General Manager, Union Bank of India, Shri Kalyan Mukherjee, Chief General Manager, Canara Bank, Shri Chandramouli Vemuru, General Manager, SIDBI, Senior officials from Banks, CEOs of DCCBs, representatives of PACS, Research Institutions, VCs of Agriculture and Horticulture Universities of Telangana, Incubation Centres, and representatives of NGOs, FPOs, OFPOs, Startups. NABARD’s Retired Employees’ Association’s Secretary Shri H R Srivatsa and Treaasurer Shri Ramadass also welcomed the Chief Guest and Shri B Uday Bhaskar, Chief General Manager, NABARD.
Addressing the gathering, the Chief Guest, Shri Dana Kishore, IAS, congratulated NABARD on entering its 45th year, on behalf of the State Government and lauded the support provided by NABARD for development of infrastructure in Rural Telangana through its Rural Infrastructure Development Fund (RIDF). He said that this year’s celebration carries special significance as it coincides with the International Year of Women Farmers, recognizing the extraordinary contribution of women to agriculture, food security, rural livelihoods, health, nutrition and community development. He further emphasized that Telangana may be one of India’s youngest States, but it possesses a rich agricultural heritage and MSME potential and the Government of Telangana has placed farmer welfare, rural development, and sustainable agriculture at the center of public policy. He said that all institutions and people should come together to make Telangana a hub of greater development.
In his Welcome Address, Shri B Uday Bhaskar, Chief General Manager, NABARD, Telangana, welcomed all the dignitaries. He said that it is a matter of pride that NABARD has responded to its mandate, with consistency over the past 44 years. During this journey it has traversed the path from a modest balance sheet size of ₹4519 crore in 1982 to A mammoth balance sheet of ₹10.96 lakh crore as of March 2026, demonstrating its continued evolution in response to the needs of rural India. He informed that NABARD extends both long term refinance and short-term refinance, which helps in capital formation as well as helps our producers with timely production credit. In Telangana, during the last 12 years, NABARD disbursed ₹1.37 lakh crore towards ST and LT refinance. Concessional refinance is also being provided for priority sectors, he said.
Other prominent speakers on the occasion were Shri Chinmoy Kumar, RD, RBI and Shri Neelesh Dwivedi, CGM, SBI and Chairman, SLBC.
On the occasion, a Project titled, “Strengthening Seed Delivery through Cooperatives for Sustainable Agri Food Systems in Telangana” was launched with distribution of seed packets to four women farmers from Mulugu District.
During the programme, three booklets, i.e., ‘Unit Cost on Investments in Agriculture and Allied Activities for Financial Year 2026-27’, ‘Impactful Agri Innovations in Telangana: Success Stories of FSPF projects and Empowering Communities’ and ‘Impactful Projects implemented by NABARD in Telangana’ were released at the hands of the Chief Guest. Good performing Women Enterpreneur, Startup Founder, DCCBs, PACS, Project Facilitating Agencies, NABARD’s DDMs were also felicitated on the occasion.