PAU DEAN DR. SIDHU IS ON PLANNING COMMISSION WORKING GROUP

LUDHIANA, MARCH 28:-----



The Planning Commission (Agriculture Division), Government of India, has nominated Dr Rajinder Singh Sidhu, Dean, College of Basic Sciences and Humanities, PAU, as a member of its \'working group on outreach of institutional finance, cooperatives and risk management for the 12th Five Year Plan (2012-2017).' Dr Sidhu is the only member from northern India. The working group has high stature experts from national bodies concerned with financial service, administration, banks, etc. Dr. Sidhu has more than 25 years research experience in farm economics and he specializes in agricultural finance and policy analysis.



Giving details, he said that for the formulation of 12th Five Year Plan, the working group would review the flow of credit to agriculture and allied sectors, perform sub-sectoral analysis and recommend measures to ease the flow of credit at reasonable rates of interest through out the country with special consideration of disadvantaged sections such as small and marginal farmers, women farmers, tenant farmers, oral lessees and landless labourers. Besides assessing the short term and long term requirement of agricultural credit during the 12th Plan, the thrust would be on to review the contribution and performance of cooperatives towards outreach of credit to agriculture and allied activities and recommend measures, said Dr. Sidhu informing that the working group would study the performance, efficacy and adequacy of risk management policies, strategies and programmes being implemented for the agriculture and allied sectors and recommend the course to be followed for risk management during the 12th Plan as well as how to increase uptake and service levels of micro insurance products. Focus would also be on the issues concerning micro-financing such as their costs and rates of lending, their contribution in credit outreach, and recommendation of future course of actions, said he. The association with the Planning Commission will provide an opportunity to vouchsafe the interest of farmers through technical inputs, said Dr. Sidhu adding that currently 48% farmers indebtedness is from non-institutional sources of finance.



Dr Manjit Singh Kang, Vice-Chancellor, PAU, congratulated Dr Sidhu for his induction in the working group. He added that it was a matter of great honour for PAU as he has been engaged in studying the role and contribution of institutional agricultural credit to growth as well as its adequacy to different farming groups.
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