The 44th Foundation Day of NABARD Uttarakhand Regional Office was celebrated under the chairmanship of Education Minister Dr. Dhan Singh Rawat
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National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) has entered its 44th year of service to the nation on 12th July 2025. On this special occasion, the 44th Foundation Day of NABARD was celebrated with joy and gaiety at NABARD, Uttarakhand Regional Office, IT Park, Sahastradhara Road, under the chairmanship of Cooperatives, Health and Higher Education Minister Dr. Dhan Singh Rawat. On this occasion, the Cabinet Minister visited the stalls set up by Self Help Groups and Farmer Producer Organizations and appreciated the products made by them. In the program, the journey of 44 years of NABARD in the building of the nation and various schemes currently run by NABARD were showcased through a short film.
A panel discussion was organized on the occasion of NABARD Foundation Day celebrations, in which various dignitaries put forth their views on the topic “Promotion of Rural Enterprise for Inclusive Development”. Shashi Kumar, General Manager, NABARD in his welcome address apprised everyone of the important achievements of NABARD and its contribution dedicated to agriculture and rural development of the country during four decades and various initiatives and projects implemented by NABARD in the state of Uttarakhand. Pankaj Yadav, Chief General Manager, NABARD, in his address apprised the House of the glorious and effective journey of NABARD in nation building through loan planning, supervision, and developmental works to rural financial institutions and told that NABARD is committed to the empowerment of farmers, cooperative institutions and rural communities so that development of every corner of Uttarakhand can be ensured.
Cabinet Minister Dr. Dhan Singh Rawat, Minister of Cooperation, Health and Higher Education, while mentioning the important role of NABARD in the development of Uttarakhand, told about the activities of NABARD dedicated to the promotion of rural India and thanked NABARD for its important contribution in agriculture and rural development. In his address, the Cabinet Minister expressed concern that the number of farmers in Uttarakhand and the entire country is continuously decreasing, which is a matter of concern and NABARD and the government will have to work together to resolve this. The Minister informed that with the aim of promoting women empowerment in the field of cooperatives, a provision of 33% reservation has been made for women in this sector. Model by-laws Act has been provided for the appointment of secretary in multipurpose cooperative societies. The Minister expressed hope that with the cooperation of NABARD, the state of Uttarakhand will develop more rapidly and move towards self-reliance.
Dr. Surendra Narayan Pandey, Secretary, Agriculture and Farmers Welfare congratulated NABARD on its 44th Foundation Day and appreciated the developmental work being done by NABARD. Apart from this, Pandey emphasized on promoting climate-friendly agriculture as well as FPO.
During the program, four multipurpose primary agricultural credit societies, namely Motahaldu M-PAX Nainital, Semandidhar M-PAX Tehri Garhwal, Sahaspur M-PAX Dehradun and Nai M-PAX Nainital and three district cooperative banks, namely District Central Cooperative Bank, US Nagar, Chamoli and Kotdwar were awarded for their excellent performance in various fields.
During the program, a brief presentation was made on the glorious journey of 44 years of NABARD dedicated to the service of the nation and the contribution of NABARD in the context of Uttarakhand.
During the program, NABARD General Manager Dr. Suman Kumar assured to make appropriate efforts from NABARD’s side on various action points raised during the program.
Dr. Surendra Narayan Pandey, Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Secretary, Vinod Kumar, Deputy General Manager, State Bank of India, Rajiv Pant, SLBC Convenor, Heads of various departments, Harihar Patnaik, Chairman, Uttarakhand Gramin Bank, Pradeep Mahrotra, Managing Director, Uttarakhand State Cooperative Bank, representatives of various commercial banks and other institutions, NGOs and staff members of NABARD were present in the function.
