The National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) on August 10, 2026, issued the Operational Guidelines for Schematic Lending under Long Term Refinance to Regional Rural Banks (RRBs).
NABARD has outlined the Long-Term Refinance facility for Regional Rural Banks (RRBs) to provide credit support for eligible activities in the agriculture and rural development sectors. The facility aims to promote capital formation in agriculture and allied activities, support Government of India and NABARD thrust areas, meet the credit requirements of JLGs and SHGs, and finance off-farm activities such as MSMEs, rural housing and commercial vehicles.
The refinance also supports climate adaptation and mitigation projects, creation of green assets, and Government of India credit-linked capital subsidy schemes routed through NABARD.
Refinance is available through two mechanisms: Pre-Sanction and Automatic Refinance Facility (ARF). Under Pre-Sanction, RRBs submit detailed project reports for NABARD's appraisal and approval. Under ARF, eligible banks can obtain refinance after disbursing loans, based on their own appraisal, without prior detailed sanction. ARF is available without an upper ceiling on total financial outlay, bank loan or refinance amount for eligible Farm Sector and Off-Farm Sector projects.
For eligibility, NABARD has waived the preliminary CRAR, Net NPA and Net Profit criteria for RRBs. Long-Term Refinance is available to RRBs falling under NABARD's internal Risk Rating Categories NBD3 to NBD7. However, RRBs having negative net worth are not eligible for refinance.
[Circular No. 189/DOR -53/ 2026]
