RURAL INFRASTRUCTURE DEVELOPMENT FUND: NEED FOR A TRACK CHANGE
In order to ensure smooth flow of funds for the development of infrastructure in rural India, Rural Infrastructure Development Fund (RIDF) was introduced in the budget of 1995-1996. The RBI governs this fund through NABARD with corpus from the commercial banks. This paper is an attempt to critically examine some of the issues that arise in the context of utilisation of the fund by different states of India. The study finds that many projects remain incomplete even after receiving funds under RIDF and certain measures are necessary to ensure proper utilisation of funds as well as to reduce intra-rural disparity in India.