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:
- 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:
- 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
(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:
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)