About Us

Department of Economic Analysis & Research

The Department of Economic Analysis and Research (DEAR) was set up to provide policy and action-oriented research support on issues of relevance to NABARD, the government and other stakeholders. It specializes in knowledge-driven activities relating to agriculture and rural development, as per the mandate of NABARD.

The strength of the department lies in the cadre of professional economists and its ability to network and collaborate with other reputed institutions.

Vision

“To develop into a quality research wing of NABARD that conducts and coordinates research to generate ideas, help evolve policy inputs, evaluate policy alternatives that would help the management in realising the objectives of the organisation and produce research output that improves NABARD’s understanding of the dimensions of rural credit in particular and overall rural development in general.”

Core Functions

A. Provide policy inputs to the management through research studies:

  • Conduct in-house studies and other research activities through subject matter specialists within the organisation at the Head Office and Regional Offices.
  • Conduct studies in collaboration with reputed research institutions on state/region-specific issues.

B. Managing Research and Development (R&D) Fund

The R&D Fund was established by the bank in accordance with the provisions of the NABARD Act, 1981, to extend grant support broadly for the following purposes:

  • Research Projects/Studies

Studies and research projects supported under the R&D Fund aim at acquiring new insights into the problems of agriculture and rural development through in-depth studies, applied research and innovative approaches. During 2021-22, the studies sanctioned covered a variety of areas like value chain financing, aquaculture, rainfall and tank storage, agri-market, mega food parks, impact evaluation of credit under MSME, SHG/JLG, documenting stories of successful farmers, women empowerment under ‘My Pad My Right’, artificial intelligence, etc. During FY 2021-22, the following studies were completed:

Sr. No. Name of the Study Click to read report
1 Sustainable Development Goals for Rural Maharashtra: Achievements and Constraints https://www.nabard.org/auth/writereaddata/tender/2202225133nrs-19-sdgs-for-rural-maharashtra-achievements-and-constraints.pdf
2 Agriculture Value Chains in India: Ensuring Competitiveness, Inclusiveness, Sustainability, Scalability and Improved Finance https://www.nabard.org/auth/writereaddata/tender/2302225955agricultural-value-chains-in-india-ensuring-cissf.pdf
3 Mid-Term Evaluation Report of Climate Change Adaptation Projects funded from UNFCC Adaptation Fund https://www.nabard.org/auth/writereaddata/tender/0903222313nrs-20-mid-term-evaluation-of-Climate-change-adaptation-projects.pdf
4 Study on Utilization of Banana Pseudostem for Textiles https://www.nabard.org/auth/writereaddata/tender/2803221907utipzation-of-banana-pseudostem-for-textiles.pdf
5 Farm Loan Waivers in India: Assessing Impact and the Road Ahead https://www.nabard.org/auth/writereaddata/tender/2304223730farm-loan-waivers-in-india-assessing-impact-and-looking-ahead_compressed.pdf
6 Rural Distress: Causes, Consequences and Cures (Antifragility) https://www.nabard.org/auth/writereaddata/tender/2405224430rural-distress-causes-consequences-and-cures-antifragipty.pdf
7 Handholding (Capacity Building and Facilitation) of FPOs: Framework to Implementation https://www.nabard.org/auth/writereaddata/tender/2705222930nrs-24-handholding-of-fpos-framework-to-implementation.pdf
8 Case Studies of FPOs in India, 2019-21 https://www.nabard.org/auth/writereaddata/tender/0306220035case-studies-of-fpos-in-india-2019-21.pdf
9 Cactus Pear (Opuntia ficus indica) as a Source of Fodder in Dry Areas of Rajasthan and Gujarat https://www.nabard.org/auth/writereaddata/tender/1606221124nrs-26.pdf
10 Coastal Watershed-Based Surface and Subsurface Salinity Mapping and Modelling of Thiruvallur and Kanchipuram districts, Tamil Nadu for sustainable brackish water aquaculture https://www.nabard.org/auth/writereaddata/tender/2107222737NRS-27-Coastal-Watershed-Based-Surface-and-Sub-Surface-Sapnity-Mapping.pdf
11 Study on Improving Operational and Financial Efficiency of RRBs https://www.nabard.org/auth/writereaddata/tender/2208225431study-on-improving-operational-and-financial-efficiency-of-rrbs.pdf
  • Seminars/Conferences/Webinars, etc.
  • The R&D Fund is also utilised for sponsoring seminars to help disseminate research findings across stakeholders. By extending support towards seminar publications, NABARD strives to spread the research inputs on themes related to agriculture and rural development in multi-fold spheres and help relevant policy formulation.

  • NABARD Chair Unit Scheme
  • The NABARD Chair Unit Scheme is designed to establish strong research linkages with reputed institutions, with the objective of pursuing extensive research in NABARD’s areas of interest.

  • Occasional Papers/Research and Policy Series
  • DEAR brings out Occasional Papers/Research and Policy Series, on topical issues relevant for operations of NABARD. The papers in this series have covered topics ranging from climate change to agricultural price policy, value chain, start-ups, livestock, etc. highlighting various issues, policy relevance, prescription, and suggestions for future papers on the themes of interest to NABARD. These are uploaded on our website for reaching out to a larger audience. The papers released under this series are as under:

Sr. No. Name of the Publication Click to read publication
1 Agricultural Price Policy for Ensuring Food Security in India https://www.nabard.org/auth/writereaddata/tender/1507223217Paper-1-%20Agri-Price-Policy-Dr.Kumar-&-Mittal.pdf
2 Under the Shadow of Development: Rainfed Agriculture and Droughts in Agricultural Development of India https://www.nabard.org/auth/writereaddata/tender/2007223429Paper-2-%20Rainfed-Agriculture-Dr.-Deshpande.pdf
3 Startups Digitising Indian Food System Innovations, Survival and Investment https://www.nabard.org/auth/writereaddata/tender/1507223444Paper-3-Startups-Digitising-Food-System-Dr.Chandra.pdf
4 Climate Change and Risk Management in Indian Agriculture https://www.nabard.org/auth/writereaddata/tender/2007223845Paper-4-Climate-and-Risk-Management-Dr.-Birthal.pdf
5 Agricultural Technologies in India: A Review https://www.nabard.org/auth/writereaddata/tender/1507223612Paper-5-Agricultural-Tech-in-India-Dr.Joshi-&-Varshney.pdf
6 Agricultural Challenges and Policies for the 21st Century https://www.nabard.org/auth/writereaddata/tender/1507223654Paper-6-Agri-Challenges-and-Policies-Dr.Chand.pdf
7 Groundwater Markets and Agricultural Development: A South Asian Overview https://www.nabard.org/auth/writereaddata/tender/1310223041paper-8-groundwater-markets-dr-tushhar-shah.pdf
8 Livestock, Agricultural Growth and Poverty Alleviation https://www.nabard.org/auth/writereaddata/tender/1310223010paper-7-livestck-dr-birthal.pdf
9 Tank Irrigation in India: Future Management Strategies and Investment Options https://www.nabard.org/auth/writereaddata/tender/2911220521paper-10-tank-irrigation-in-india-by-dr-palanisami.pdf
10 Institutions for Agriculture and Rural Development: A Case Study of Water Institutions in India - Rathinasamy Maria Saleth https://www.nabard.org/auth/writereaddata/tender/2911220427paper-9-agriculture-and-rural-inst-by-dr-saleth.pdf
  • Student Engagement
  • NABARD has been engaging with the student community through Student Internship Scheme (SIS) from 2oo5-o6. The objective of the Scheme is to assign short-term tasks/projects/studies useful and relevant to NABARD. We have broadened the ambit of our engagement with student community and included new schemes to our ambit, namely, (i) Grameen Chintan, (ii) NABARD Gold Medal Scheme and (iii) NABARD Outstanding Ph.D Thesis prize.

C. Annual Report of NABARD

The department brings out the Annual Report of NABARD which documents a comprehensive picture of the major activities undertaken by NABARD in the previous financial year. It also carries the audited accounts for the relevant year along with key statistical statements as an adjunct.

D. Sustainability Report of NABARD

NABARD prepares its Sustainability Report based on GRI Guidelines. It gives information about economic, environmental, social and governance performance of organisation. It highlights critical impacts of the organization’s functioning– on the environment, society and the economy.

E. Tracking the Economy

DEAR had evolved a data tracking system, titled Rural Economy Tracker (RET) by bringing all important data relating to various aspects of the rural economy of India together. The same has now been remodeled and prepared in the form of weekly/monthly bulletins (‘EcoWatch’, ‘EcoThink’) highlighting the state of the economy, including outlook on interest rate movement, inflation, bond yields etc..

F. Support to Committees/Expert Working Groups

DEAR provides inputs to various committees for discussions in various fora on wide ranging topics such as Rural Distress, Value Chains, Doubling Farmers’ Income (DFI), FPOs, Agricultural Growth, Climate change and social stock exchange. The department and its officers provide academic / secretarial support to the Committees where NABARD has a role.

G. Central Library

DEAR maintains a well-stocked Central Library at its head office with over 25000 books besides journals, newspapers, magazines and on-line subscriptions, as knowledge support to its officials data.

H. In-House Research/Studies/Publications:

DEAR conducts in-house research and brings out reports on issues of relevance to Indian agriculture and rural development.

(a) In House Booklets

(b) Working Papers

Sr. No. Name of the Publication Click to read report
1 Five Decades of India’s Agricultural Growth across Crops: Emerging Trends and Patterns https://www.nabard.org/auth/writereaddata/tender/2609222521five-decades-of-indias-agricultural-growth-across-crops-emerging-trends-and-patterns.pdf
2 NAFINDEX: Measure of Financial Inclusion based on NABARD All India Rural Financial Inclusion Survey (NAFIS) Data https://www.nabard.org/auth/writereaddata/tender/1008204111WP2020_1.pdf

(c) Rural Pulse

NABARD publishes Rural Pulse, a short policy prescription based on analytical research by staff which acts as a platform for knowledge dissemination. Till date 38 issues of Rural Pulse have been published. A few such publications are as under:

(d) Papers/Articles by Officers in reputed journals on topical issues

Officers in NABARD have been contributing articles in reputed journals on topical issues related to the domain of NABARD. The details of recent publications are as under:

Sr. No. Name of the Publication Click to read publication
1 Financial Inclusion in India https://www.nabard.org/auth/writereaddata/tender/2309220440kurukshetra-article.pdf
2 Farmers’ Welfare in India- A State-wise Analysis https://www.nabard.org/auth/writereaddata/tender/2609223014measuring-farmers-welfare-an-analysis-across-states-of-india.pdf
3 Rural Credit: Can We Make it More Inclusive? https://www.nabard.org/auth/writereaddata/tender/2609223632can-we-make-rural-credit-inclusive.pdf
4 Trends and Performance of India's Agricultural Trade in the Midst of COVID-19 Pandemic https://www.nabard.org/auth/writereaddata/tender/2709224946trends-and-performance-of-indias-agricultural-trade-in-the-midst-of-covid-19-pandemic.pdf
5 Growth and Issues in Agricultural Credit with Special Reference to Uttar Pradesh: A District Level Analysis https://www.nabard.org/auth/writereaddata/tender/2709222005growth-and-issues-in-agricultural-credit.pdf
6 Institutional Credit Flow in North Eastern Region: Issues and Solutions https://www.nabard.org/auth/writereaddata/tender/2709225325institutional-credit-flow-in-north-eastern-region-issues-and-solutions.pdf
7 Market Vulnerabilities and Potential of Horticulture Crops in India: With Special Reference to TOP Crops https://www.nabard.org/auth/writereaddata/tender/2709225958market-vulnerabilities-and-potential.pdf
8 Understanding of FPOs Business Ecosystem and Strategies to Tap Potential https://www.nabard.org/auth/writereaddata/tender/2709220406understanding-of-fpos-business-ecosystem-and-strategies-to-tap-potential.pdf
Important Links

Contact Information

Dr. K.C. Badatya
Chief General Manager
2nf Floor, ‘B’ Wing, C-24, ‘G’ Block
Bandra-Kurla Complex, Bandra (East)
Mumbai-400051
Tel: (91) 022 – 26523617
E-mail Address: dear@nabard.org

Information under RTI – Section 4(1)(b)