Which of the following grants/grant direct credit assistance to rural households? 1. Regional Rural Banks 2. National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development 3. Land Development Banks Select the correct answer using the codes given below.

Regional Rural Banks (RRBs) and Land Development Banks (LDBs) provide direct credit assistance to rural households. RRBs were established to develop the rural economy by providing credit to small and marginal farmers, agricultural laborers, and artisans [2]. Land Development Banks (now often called State Co-operative Agriculture and Rural Development Banks) provide long-term investment credit for agricultural development [4]. In contrast, the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) is an apex development finance institution. While it manages rural infrastructure funds and provides direct credit to state governments for infrastructure, it does not extend direct credit to individuals or rural households [1]. Instead, NABARD functions primarily as a refinancing agency, supplementing the resources of RRBs, Cooperative Banks, and Commercial Banks to improve ground-level credit flow [3]. Therefore, only RRBs and LDBs provide direct credit to households.

Sources

1. [2] Indian Economy, Vivek Singh (7th ed. 2023-24) > Chapter 2: Money and Banking- Part I > 4. Co-operative Banks: > p. 82
2. [3] Indian Economy, Nitin Singhania .(ed 2nd 2021-22) > Chapter 7: Money and Banking > National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development > p. 181
3. [4] Indian Economy, Nitin Singhania .(ed 2nd 2021-22) > Chapter 9: Agriculture > ROLE OF NABARD > p. 321
4. [1] Indian Economy, Vivek Singh (7th ed. 2023-24) > Chapter 2: Money and Banking- Part I > 12. NABARD: > p. 83