Last-Mile Credit Push

The release of NABARD’s Focus Paper estimating a priority sector credit potential of nearly ₹50,000 crore for Jammu and Kashmir in 2026–27 is more than a statistical exercise. It is a quiet yet powerful signal of confidence in the Union Territory’s economic possibilities and an invitation to translate planning into purposeful action. At a time when Jammu and Kashmir is steadily redefining its development narrative, this forward-looking credit roadmap offers a framework through which growth can be made both inclusive and sustainable.

For decades, access to timely and adequate institutional credit has remained one of the most decisive factors shaping rural prosperity. The emphasis placed by NABARD on “last mile credit inclusion” recognizes a fundamental truth: development does not fail because of a lack of ideas alone; it fails when people are unable to access resources that convert ideas into livelihoods. Reaching small and marginal farmers, artisans, women entrepreneurs, self-help groups, and microenterprises is therefore not a matter of social obligation alone but a core economic necessity. The Focus Paper’s strong thrust on agriculture and allied sectors reflects the enduring centrality of farming to Jammu and Kashmir’s economy. Yet, its larger significance lies in the shift it encourages, from subsistence-based activity to commercially viable and market-oriented agriculture. Credit directed towards infrastructure, processing, storage, value addition, and niche crops can help farmers move up the value chain rather than remain trapped at its lowest rung. When finance supports orchards, medicinal and aromatic plants, fisheries, wool processing, or integrated dairy units, it creates not just income but resilience. Equally important is the attention given to MSMEs and rural enterprises. Small businesses are often the most potent generators of local employment but also the most constrained by a lack of finance and market access. Priority sector lending, when combined with mentoring, technology upgradation, and structured marketing support, can unlock the productive energy of thousands of aspiring entrepreneurs. The success of initiatives such as Mission YUVA and the growing role of self-help groups and Lakhpati Didis underline how credit, when placed in capable hands, becomes a tool of empowerment. NABARD’s continued investments through the Rural Infrastructure Development Fund add another critical layer to this development architecture. Roads, irrigation systems, storage facilities, market yards, and digital infrastructure quietly determine whether economic activity flourishes or stagnates. Infrastructure lending does not always capture public attention, but its multiplier effect is undeniable. Every rural asset created expands the horizon of what communities can produce, process, and sell. The growing focus on digital platforms, fully digitized primary agricultural credit societies, micro ATMs,, and financial literacy initiatives also points towards a modernizing financial ecosystem. These interventions reduce dependence on informal credit, lower transaction costs, and build trust between institutions and borrowers. Over time, such trust becomes the backbone of a healthy credit culture. However, credit potential projections will have meaning only if matched by responsive banking behaviour, strong coordination among departments and effective monitoring. Universal coverage of Kisan Credit Cards, timely sanctioning of loans, and greater use of skill-based rather than collateral-heavy lending must move from intent to practice. At the same time, borrowers need support in financial planning, risk management, and market linkage so that credit leads to productive outcomes rather than distress. There is also a wider lesson embedded in NABARD’s approach. Development today is no longer about isolated schemes. It is about building ecosystems in which credit, infrastructure, skills, technology, and markets reinforce each other. Jammu and Kashmir, with its rich natural resources and resilient people, stands to gain enormously from such integrated thinking.

The Focus Paper offers a credible map. Walking this path will require patience, institutional discipline, and a shared sense of purpose among policymakers, bankers, and communities. If pursued with sincerity, priority sector credit planning can become a quiet engine of transformation, turning aspirations into enterprises and potential into prosperity. In that journey lies the promise of a Jammu and Kashmir where growth is not only visible in numbers but felt in everyday lives.