Which bank was established on 12 July 1982 on the recommendation of the B. Sivaraman Committee?

The National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) was set up on 12 July 1982 by an Act of Parliament, the NABARD Act, 1981. It was established on the recommendation of the Committee to Review Arrangements for Institutional Credit for Agriculture and Rural Development (CRAFICARD), set up by the Reserve Bank of India in 1979 under the chairmanship of B. Sivaraman, a former member of the Planning Commission.

NABARD took over the agricultural credit functions of the RBI and the refinance functions of the Agricultural Refinance and Development Corporation (ARDC). It started with an initial capital of ₹100 crore. It was earlier owned jointly by the RBI and the Government of India, but since 2018 it has been wholly owned by the Government of India. Its headquarters is in Mumbai.

NABARD is India's apex development bank for agriculture and rural areas. Its main functions are:

Providing refinance to banks, such as cooperative banks, regional rural banks and commercial banks, for lending to agriculture and rural activities.

Building rural infrastructure through the Rural Infrastructure Development Fund (RIDF), set up in 1995-96.

Supervising cooperative banks and regional rural banks.

Promoting microfinance. NABARD launched the Self-Help Group-Bank Linkage Programme in 1992, which has become one of the world's largest microfinance programmes. It also promoted Joint Liability Groups and Farmer Producer Organisations (FPOs).

Supporting the Kisan Credit Card scheme, introduced in 1998.

NABARD is one of the All India Financial Institutions (AIFIs), along with EXIM Bank, SIDBI, the National Housing Bank (NHB) and NaBFID, which are regulated by the RBI.

Why not the other options?

• ✗SIDBI was set up in 1990 for small industries.
• ✗EXIM Bank was set up in 1982 (began operations on 1 January 1982) to finance foreign trade.
• ✗Regional Rural Banks were set up from 2 October 1975.