New Delhi: Asian Development Bank (ADB) will partner India’s National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) to facilitate climate action in the country’s agriculture, natural resources and rural development (ANR) sector.
Under the collaborative initiative, a Technical Support Unit (TSU) has been set up in NABARD with the partnership of Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF) to enable NABARD to address the challenges posed by climate change, particularly in the areas of agriculture and rural livelihood sectors in India, according to a press statement.
At the launch event, NABARD Chairman Shaji K V highlighted the importance of enhancing climate resilience since close to 55% of assets in the Indian Banking sector is prone to climate risks.
“NABARD is committed to not just support rural financial institutions in India to identify and abate climate risks but also channel global pools of climate capital into India’s ANR sector,” he said.
“At the same time, NABARD is also focussed on setting up a path to climate neutrality in its own operations,” the Chairman said.
Mio Oka, Director, Agriculture, Food, Nature, and Rural Development Sector Office, ADB and Srivalli Krishnan, Senior Program Officer, BMGF were also present during the launch event.
Intellecap Advisory Services Private Limited has been appointed to manage this Technical Support Unit.
Intellecap has proven experience in on-ground management of large-scale programs in agriculture and other agri-allied sectors, with a climate adaptation as well as mitigation focus, the release said.
NABARD would like to use this opportunity to call all the ecosystem partners to join us in this journey and make this planet a better place to live.
