International Journal of Agriculture Extension and Social Development

author(s)
Srikanth HS, NN Karnool, Ranganath G and Nagaraj

abstract
Credit plays a pivotal role in overall development of agriculture and allied activities. Growth in agriculture sector is directly influenced by flow of credit to the rural beneficiaries. The main objective of regional rural banks in India is to advance credit and other facilities, especially to small and marginal farmers, agricultural labourers, artisans and small entrepreneurs in order to develop agriculture, trade, commerce, industry and other usual productive activities in different rural areas of the country. In order to identify the pattern of the flow of finance in Karnataka Vikas Grameena Bank, both beneficiary wise and purpose wise, the techniques of Kendall’s coefficient of concordance (W) was used. The data on the flow of credit, beneficiary wise and purpose wise related to the period of 2005-06 to 2013-14. In a favorable crop year more number of farmers borrowed the funds and make investments in land development and crop production and vice-versa in a bad season. As a result the variation was relatively less. In case of beneficiary wise flow of credit, the variation in MSME was higher due to the fact, advances under government sponsored programmes as loans for MSME increased due to participation of the bank in these programmes led to higher variation. The least variation was observed in the case of SF/MF/AL because it is mandatory to meet certain fixed percent of advances under priority sector. In degree of concentration of credit, the inequality values were found to be lower, both in purpose wise and beneficiary wise in the individual years as well as in the overall period, yet the degree of inequality was found to be relatively lower in the case of flow of purpose wise credit than beneficiary wise flow of credit. It is advocated that the bank has to pay little more attention in the beneficiary wise flow of credit so as to attain greater equality in the distribution of credit.