India’s agricultural sector stands at the heart of the nation’s economic and social progress, serving as a powerful driver of food security, rural empowerment, and employment generation. With more than half of the population engaged in agriculture and allied activities, this sector plays a vital role in sustaining livelihoods and fostering local enterprise.
In recent years, government-led initiatives such as PM-KISAN, PMFBY, the Agriculture Infrastructure Fund, and the PM Formalisation of Micro Food Processing Enterprises (PMFME) scheme have accelerated this transformation. By focusing on irrigation, infrastructure, crop diversification, and income support, these programmes have brought farming closer to sustainability while unlocking new growth opportunities for millions of farmers.
Complementing these national efforts, Punjab National Bank (PNB) continues to strengthen rural resilience through inclusive and tailored financial solutions. From Kisan Credit Cards and SHG financing to Agri-infrastructure loans and support for allied sectors, the Bank empowers farmers to scale their operations, adopt modern technologies, and access broader markets.
Building Agri India 2.0: Infrastructure, Innovation, and Inclusive Growth
For Indian agriculture to transition from subsistence to sustainability, it must evolve beyond the sowing and harvesting cycle. The future lies in a value-chain ready farm economy, one that is supported by robust rural infrastructure, technology adoption, and strong market linkages. Strategic investments in cold storage, warehouses, farm mechanisation, and custom hiring centres are critical to reducing post-harvest losses, improving price realisation, and creating rural employment. In this effort, the Agriculture Infrastructure Fund (AIF) plays a catalytic role by supporting capital-intensive agri-projects that can uplift both productivity and prosperity.
Alongside infrastructure, the rise of rural enterprises is reshaping India’s agrarian landscape. The PM Formalisation of Micro Food Processing Enterprises (PMFME) scheme is empowering small, often family-run, food businesses many of them led by women with credit access, infrastructure grants, and quality certification support. These units, once rooted in informal cottage industries, are scaling into competitive, market-facing enterprises that not only add value to agricultural produce but also anchor job creation in rural regions.
Importantly, rural India’s economic fabric is no longer limited to traditional farming. There is growing momentum in allied and emerging sectors such as precision farming, aquaculture, hi-tech horticulture, food and agro-processing. Young rural entrepreneurs are increasingly venturing into these spaces with ambition and agility. What they need is not just credit but targeted support, capacity building, and handholding. Supporting innovation in these sectors can help reduce the risks of mono-cropping, enhance income diversification, and usher in a new wave of rural enterprise.
The Union Budget 2025–26 has rightly recognised this shift, placing agriculture at the centre of India’s inclusive growth strategy. Flagship schemes like the PM Dhan-Dhaanya Krishi Yojana are aimed at transforming 100 low-productivity districts by strengthening irrigation, promoting crop diversification, and building storage infrastructure. The enhancement of the Kisan Credit Card (KCC) interest subvention limit from ₹3 lakh to ₹5 lakh will benefit over 7.7 crore farmers, including those in dairy and fisheries boosting liquidity at the grassroots level.
In parallel, initiatives such as the National Mission on High-Yielding Seeds, the Mission for Aatmanirbharta in Pulses, and the Rural Prosperity and Resilience Programme focus on advancing climate-resilient farming, agricultural research, and rural skilling. Complementary efforts like the Comprehensive Programme for Fruits and Vegetables and the expanded support under PMFME are reinforcing processing capabilities and creating forward linkages for agri-produce.
Together, these efforts are more than policy interventions they are a strategic roadmap to build a resilient, modern, and inclusive rural economy. They signal a systemic shift from farm to finance, from input to income, and from subsistence to enterprise.
SHGs as Engines of Grassroots Enterprise and Women’s Empowerment
Self-Help Groups (SHGs) have emerged as one of India’s most transformative grassroots models particularly for women in rural areas. With even modest financial support, these collectives are turning local skills into thriving enterprises across sectors like dairy, food processing, tailoring, handicrafts, and animal husbandry. What starts as supplemental income often grows into sustainable businesses that fuel local economies and build financial independence.
The real catalyst behind this transformation is structured Micro Credit Plan-based financing, which empowers SHGs to move beyond subsistence formalising their operations, accessing higher-value credit, adopting digital tools, and tapping into government subsidies and new-age marketplaces.
Women-led SHGs, in particular, are driving a quiet revolution. Focused lending combined with financial literacy, market linkages, and digital empowerment enables rural women not just to participate in the economy, but to lead it. These women become multipliers of change, improving household outcomes, strengthening community resilience, and unlocking intergenerational progress.
The Road Ahead: From Access to Ownership
India’s growth story is no longer scripted solely in its cities it is being co-authored every day in its villages, farmlands, and small towns. Rural India is fast emerging as the new frontier of innovation, enterprise, and inclusive development. Agriculture, once seen as a subsistence sector, is now the foundation for grassroots entrepreneurship, digital adoption, and women-led change.
To truly empower Bharat, we must shift from outreach to ownership. Access to finance must be more than availability it must be meaningful, responsible, and rooted in dignity. Technology should not merely touch rural lives it must transform them. And credit must not just be disbursed it must be delivered with purpose and impact.
Inclusive finance is not a transactional service it is a transformative force. It allows people to plan for the future, weather uncertainties, invest in ideas, and unlock opportunities. When every citizen especially those in the most remote corners has access to structured financial tools, we are not just enabling livelihoods; we are empowering lives.
At Punjab National Bank (PNB), India’s first indigenous bank, the mission has always been to turn financial inclusion into impact. From SHG financing and Agri-tech solutions to Jan Dhan accounts and Farmer Training Centres, the Bankfollows a grassroots-first approach.
The Bank has also extended banking services across rural, semi-urban, urban, and metro centres through a robust Business Correspondent (BC) network, and continues to empower rural communities with financial tools, skills, and opportunities through its 175 Financial Literacy Centres (FLCs), 75 Rural Self Employment Training Institutes (RSETIs), and 12 Farmer Training Centres (FTCs) across 9 states.
But this journey is far greater than any one institution. When rural India thrives, it doesn’t just reduce poverty it redefines what progress means for all of India.
