GEARING RURAL CREDIT FOR THE 21ST CENTURY

The task before the rural credit system in the next century will be fo rmidable and complex as it has to deal with two diverse challenges, na mely, addressing the basic problems of rural development and globalisi ng Indian agriculture. Thus it has to deal with two distinct clientele groups: one having small individual credit needs but accounting for a high proportion of total credit needs and the other requiring huge am ounts of credit for practising capital-intensive, export-oriented hi-t ech agriculture. The existing credit system has to be geared to these challenges.