National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) is an apex development financial institution in India, headquartered at Mumbai with branches all over India. The Bank has been entrusted with "matters concerning policy, planning and operations in the field of credit for agriculture and other economic activities in rural areas in India". NABARD is active in developing financial inclusion policy and is a member of the Alliance for Financial Inclusion.

NABARD was established on the recommendations of B.Sivaraman Committee, (by Act 61, 1981 of Parliament) on 12 July 1982 to implement the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development Act 1981. It replaced the Agricultural Credit Department (ACD) and Rural Planning and Credit Cell (RPCC) of Reserve Bank of India, and Agricultural Refinance and Development Corporation (ARDC). It is one of the premier agencies providing developmental credit in rural areas. NABARD is India's specialised bank for Agriculture and Rural Development in India.
The initial corpus of NABARD was Rs.100 crores. Consequent to the revision in the composition of share capital between Government of India and RBI, the paid up capital as on 31 May 2017, stood at Rs.6,700 crore with Government of India holding Rs.6,700 crore (100% share). The authorized share capital is Rs.30, 000 crore.
International associates of NABARD include World Bank-affiliated organizations and global developmental agencies working in the field of agriculture and rural development. These organizations help NABARD by advising and giving monetary aid for the upliftment of the people in the rural areas and optimizing the agricultural process.

National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development has been instrumental in grounding rural, social innovations and social enterprises in the rural hinterlands. It has in the process partnered with about 4000 partner organisations in grounding many of the interventions be it, SHG-Bank Linkage programme, tree - based tribal communities’ livelihoods initiative, watershed approach in soil and water conservation, increasing crop productivity initiatives through lead crop initiative or dissemination of information flow to agrarian communities through Farmer clubs. Despite all this, it pays huge taxes too, to the exchequer – figuring in the top 50 tax payers consistently. NABARD virtually ploughs back all the profits for development spending, in their unending search for solutions and answers. Thus the organisation had developed a huge amount of trust capital in its 3 decades of work with rural communities.

1. National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development is the most important institution in the country which looks after the development of the cottage industry, small scale industry and village industry, and other rural industries.
2. NABARD also reaches out to allied economies and supports and promotes integrated development.
3. NABARD discharge its duty by undertaking the following roles


• Serves as an apex financing agency for the institutions providing investment and production credit for promoting the various developmental activities in rural areas


• Takes measures towards institution building for improving absorptive capacity of the credit delivery system, including monitoring, formulation of rehabilitation schemes, restructuring of credit institutions, training of personnel, etc.


• Co-ordinates the rural financing activities of all institutions engaged in developmental work at the field level and maintains liaison with Government of India, state governments, Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and other national level institutions concerned with policy formulation


• Undertakes monitoring and evaluation of projects refinanced by it.


• NABARD refinances the financial institutions which finances the rural sector.


• NABARD partakes in development of institutions which help the rural economy.


• NABARD also keeps a check on its client institutes.


• It regulates the institutions which provide financial help to the rural economy.


• It provides training facilities to the institutions working in the field of rural upliftment.


• It regulates the cooperative banks and the RRB’s, and manages talent acquisition through IBPS CWE.

NABARD's affairs are governed by a Board of Directors. The Board of Directors are appointed by the Government of India in consonance with NABARD Act. The composition of the Board of Directors is as under:
Names and Addresses of the Members of the Board of Directors of NABARD -