RAS question
NABARD primarily provides credit to which sector?
Correct answer: (A) Agriculture and Rural Development.
NABARD primarily provides credit support to agriculture and rural development, because it is India’s apex development bank for that sector.
Explanation
NABARD stands for the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development. Its official “Who We Are” page describes it as India’s apex development bank, set up to promote sustainable and equitable agriculture and rural development. NABARD’s creation is linked to the need for institutional credit for agriculture and rural development, and it was created to focus on credit-related issues connected with rural development. That is why the answer is not a generic banking category: NABARD’s core identity and mandate are tied to agriculture, rural development, agri-finance, rural infrastructure, microfinance, rural entrepreneurship, and institutional development in rural areas.
Why the other options are wrong
- (B) The service sector is not NABARD’s primary credit focus; the official description ties NABARD to agriculture, rural development and rural finance.
- (C) Mining is not part of NABARD’s stated mandate, which centres on agriculture and rural development.
- (D) The industrial sector is too broad and urban-industrial in framing; NABARD is identified as the apex development bank for agriculture and rural development, not industry at large.
Concept
This tests the institutional-credit part of the Indian Economy syllabus: which specialised financial institution serves which sector. It recurs in RAS because rural credit, agriculture finance and development institutions are standard economy themes.