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🚀 नीदरलैंड्स में देखें कृषि का भविष्य! 🇳🇱
हाई-टेक खेती, फ्लोरीकल्चर, एग्री-प्रोसेसिंग और डेयरी के दुनिया के सबसे उन्नत इकोसिस्टम का हिस्सा बनें।

BIRD लखनऊ की अंतरराष्ट्रीय एक्सपोज़र विज़िट में शामिल हों
📅 19–25 अप्रैल 2026

क्लाइमेट-स्मार्ट ग्रीनहाउस से लेकर विश्वप्रसिद्ध फ्लावर ऑक्शन तक—
देखें, सीखें और भारत में नई दिशा लेकर आएं। 🌾🌍

👉 नामांकन हेतु QR स्कैन करें या जाएँ: birdlucknow.nabard.org

🚀 Experience Agriculture’s Future — in the Netherlands! Get inside the world’s most advanced ecosystem in hi-tech farming, floriculture, agri-processing & dairying. Join BIRD Lucknow’s International Exposure Visit 📅 19–25 April 2026 From climate-smart greenhouses to the iconic flower auctions — See it. Learn it. Bring it back to India. 🌾🌍 👉 Scan the QR or visit birdlucknow.nabard.org to nominate.

बर्ड लखनऊ की मासिक झलकियाँ
ग्रामीण वित्त, नवाचार और क्षमता निर्माण से जुड़ी हमारी प्रमुख गतिविधियाँ एक नज़र में।
नीतिगत संवाद से लेकर ज़मीनी बदलाव तक — हमारी यात्रा जारी है।
जानिए, जुड़िए और सशक्त बनिए। 🌾
📩 नवीनतम अंक पढ़ें — लिंक बायो में उपलब्ध
#ग्रामीणविकास #वित्तीयसमावेशन #मासिकपत्रिका

📊 BIRD x TU-CIBIL | Empowering RFIs
BIRD, in collaboration with TU-CIBIL, conducted a two-day training programme on ‘Credit Score Based Retail Lending’ from 28–29 July 2025 for officers of Rural Financial Institutions.

💡 The programme covered:
🔹 Loan lifecycle & credit underwriting
🔹 Reading Credit Information Reports (CIR)
🔹 Portfolio management
🔹 Best practices in data submission & dispute resolution

✅ The sessions were well-received for their depth and practical insights!

Bankers Institute of Rural Development (BIRD), Lucknow signed an MOU with Dr. S.A. Dave Centre for Centre for Research and Teaching in Finance, housed in the Mumbai School of Economics and Public Policy, University of Mumbai. The two institutions will collaborate on developing training programs, certificate courses and diplomas in areas of Climate Change, Climate Finance and Sustainable Development. One of the major focal points of this MOU is a Certificate Course in the niche area of Climate Finance, which BIRD, Lucknow will offer to students of the University. As part of the program, students would benefit from learning at the Experiential Climate Change Lab at BIRD, Lucknow. Students of the University would also benefit from internships at BIRD, Lucknow. Additionally, the institutions would collaborate on research as well as organizing policy dialogues in the form of seminars and roundtables.

BIRD Bharat Mahotsav 2025

Grameen Bharat Mahotsav (GBM) 2025, an initiative of the Department of Financial Services (DFS) and National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD), is being organised at Bharat Mandapam, New Delhi between 04 – 09 January 2025 with an aim of celebrating Rural India's entrepreneurial spirit and cultural heritage, with the theme 'Building a Resilient Rural India for a Viksit Bharat 2047’ and motto “गांव बढ़े, तो देश बढ़े”. GBM was inaugurated by the Hon’ble Prime Minister of India Shri. Narendra Modi in the august presence of Hon’ble Finance Minister Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman & Hon’ble MoS for Finance Shri. Pankaj Chaudhary.
The Mahotsav, through various discussions, workshops and masterclasses, aims to enhance rural infrastructure, create self-reliant economies, and foster innovation within rural communities. Its objectives include promoting economic stability and financial security among rural populations, with a special focus on North-East India, by addressing financial inclusion and supporting sustainable agricultural practices.
A significant focus of the Mahotsav will be to empower rural women through entrepreneurship; bring together government officials, thought leaders, rural entrepreneurs, artisans and stakeholders from diverse sectors to build a roadmap for collaborative and collective rural transformation; encourage discussions around leveraging technology and innovative practices to enhance rural livelihoods; and showcase India's rich cultural heritage through vibrant performances and exhibitions.
As a part of the mega event, @150 stalls have been set up to showcase not only GI products but also promote the artisans across various States of India.
NABARD has set up a Theme Pavillion, wherein the Experiential Learning Centre for Climate Change of Bankers Institute of Rural Development (BIRD), Lucknow is also participating. Through an innovative demonstration of simulation models for climate change, 360° VR videos, impacts of climate change on various sectors, understanding of climate finance instruments and calculation of individual carbon footprint, the stall serves to facilitate a better understanding of the hazards posed by climate change in order to develop locally adaptative solutions to negate the adverse effects of climate change.

51st Meeting of Governing Council (GC)
Bankers Institute of Rural Development (BIRD), Lucknow

The 51st Meeting of the Governing Council of BIRD was held under the Chairmanship of Dr G R Chintala, Chairman, NABARD on 25 March 2022 at BIRD Campus, Lucknow. K Ravinder Rao, Chairman, TSCAB & Chairman NAFSCOB; Shri P Satish, Executive Director, Sa – Dhan; Shri J C Mishra, CGM (Retd.), NABARD; Dr N Jeyaseelan, CEO, Virutcham Academy for Changemaker LLP and Special Invitee to GC - Shri Nilay Kapoor, CGM, HRMD, NABARD were personally present on the occasion, all the other Hon’ble members participated through online mode.
Shri Shankar A. Pande, Director, BIRD, Lucknow welcomed all the Governing Council members.
Chairman, in his introductory remarks, appreciated the initiatives taken by BIRD, Lucknow for providing quality training inputs and experience sharing with field practitioners / subject experts - during the pandemic period. Emphasising the need to adopt an appropriate mix of physical and digital capacity building interventions, Chairman also emphasised the need to be take cognizance of the fact that most of the banks are now having their own training establishments and BIRD’s capacity building inputs need to factor this aspect and focus on designing training programmes to address the requirements of the ecosystem.
During the meeting, Chairman outlined the need to rope in new partners, focus on collaborative programmes – especially in the areas of cooperative banking, PACS Computerisation, FPOs, climate change, etc.
Director, BIRD initiated the proceedings by highlighting major initiatives and achievements since the last Governing Council Meeting. He also proposed detailed agenda items to the G.C members. Key highlights of major studies undertaken by BIRD were also presented to the Governing Council.
On the occasion, Chairman also released 04 publications by BIRD viz. (i) A compilation of findings of select studies, workshops & webinars; (ii) Study Report on FPOs; (iii) Aggregation Model for Small-holder Farmers by APRACA Centre of Excellence; (iv) BIRD’s CLIMATE LENS by Centre for Climate Change
Summing up the deliberations, Chairman, in his concluding address, thanked all the members for their valued contribution.
The meeting ended with a Vote of Thanks by Director BIRD, Lucknow.

Webinar on Financing of Green and Climate Resilient Investments / Activities by Banks and FIs - Issues, strategies and way forward

Centre for Climate Change (CCC), BIRD, Lucknow organised an online Webinar on “Financing of Green and Climate Resilient Investments / Activities by Banks and FIs - Issues, strategies and way forward” on 25 March 2022. The webinar was chaired by Dr. G.R. Chintala, Chairman, NABARD.
During his Welcome Address, Shri Shankar A. Pande, Director, BIRD, Lucknow welcomed the panellists and participants and observed that as India is highly vulnerable to climate change, there is a need to develop new skill sets to appreciate the climate related risks and opportunities. He pointed out that in order to address the climate related issues, Banks and other Financial Institutions need to have a re-look into their existing portfolio and develop appropriate climate resilient responses. Outlining the objectives of the Webinar, he hoped that an interaction between the various stakeholders – both regulators and practitioners from various sectors would lead to cooperation and collaboration in this sphere.
Dr G R Chintala, Chairman, NABARD appreciated BIRD and CCC for organising the Webinar on one of the most relevant themes, which could foster cross learnings through awareness creation and help evolve strategies for developing climate appropriate products. During his Inaugural address, Chairman observed that while climate change is a phenomenon which has been repeating itself across the historical past, globally the responses have been varied and generally not evaluated in monetary terms. Stressing the need to evaluate the differential impact of climate change on various types of assets across regions, Chairman highlighted the need to develop innovative approaches to offset the adverse impact of climate change.
Addressing the issue of the absence of a common definition for Green Finance, Chairman shared NABARDs experiences in developing a number of climate resilient mechanisms and highlighted the need for focussing on key areas such as creation of moisture security, making farming profitable and the need for adoption of Integrated Farming System (IFS) approaches.
The inaugural session was followed by a presentation on a study taken up by BIRD. Thereafter the panel discussion with eminent panelists from Regulators, banking institutions and other major stakeholders was taken up. Sh. Brij Raj, GM, Reserve Bank of India was the lead speaker and set the template for the discussions. He spoke at length about the regulatory initiatives taken up by RBI and highlighted the importance of climate change and the priority towards creating an enabling regulatory approach towards green and climate resilient financing.
The other panelists included Shri Manish Chourasia, MD, TATA Cleantech Capital Ltd.; Dr Malini Balakrishnan, Senior Fellow, TERI; Shri A V Rama Rao, CGM, Canara Bank; Shri B Sreenivasa Rao, GM, RABD, Union Bank of India and Shri Sandeep Bhattacharya, India Project Manager, Climate Bonds Initiative.
The panel discussions during the Webinar was moderated by Sh. Brij Raj, GM, RBI. Over 200 participants from Banks, Financial Institutions, sector experts, NABARD Regional Offices, NABARD Training Establishments, etc., participated in the Webinar. The programme was compered by Dr Sriram Appulingam, FM and In –Charge, CCC.

The APRACA Journal can be accessed through the following link.

birdlucknow.nabard.org

Two-day National Webinar on ‘Emerging Trends in HR’

A National webinar on Emerging Trends in Human Resource Development was organised by BIRD Lucknow on 31 January 2022 and 01 February 2022 in which eminent speakers viz., Shri Mrutyunjay Mohapatra, Ex-MD and CEO of Syndicate Bank, Shri Gyan Pandey, Motivational Speaker, Dr. V.P. Singh, Chairman, Asia Coaching Network & Advisor and Distinguished Professor Dr.K.N Modi University & Jaipuria Institute of Management were invited as key resource persons. The webinar was attended by more than 125 participants from various financial institutions like Commercial Banks, Regional Rural Banks, StCBs/DCCBs, Small Finance Banks, Micro Finance Institutions and Training Establishments of various banks.
At the outset, an overview of the workshop objectives and session plan were explained by Dr. Shikha Tripathi, FM BIRD. Shri Shankar A. Pande, Director, BIRD, formally welcomed the guests and the participants and highlighted the importance of Human Resource development in the organisations, especially in view of the recent emerging trends and changes in the external environment. He emphasized on role of leadership, succession planning, as emerging concerns of HR and also on how technology has permeated through various areas including HR. During his welcome remarks he also shared about the changes in training needs and how BIRD has addressed same from time to time to prepare the human capital of its stakeholders to deal with HR challenges presented upon these organizations by the changing external environment.
Shri K.S.Raghupathi, CGM DoS, also handling the additional charge of IDD Head Office, had also been invited to share his thoughts on the subject as the workshop was sponsored by IDD, NABARD Head Office. Shri Raghupathi complimented BIRD Lucknow for selecting the most appropriate theme for the National Webinar in the current scenario. He highlighted the HR challenges being experienced by the financial institutions, especially RFIs in view of the current profile of the workforce vis a vis the job requirements.
Shri Mrutyunjay Mohapatra spoke on need for embracing Innovations and leveraging technology as enablers for creating high performance human capital. His emphasised on the importance of Employee Experience Management right from the basics of HR functions to creating high performance HR strategies. Shri Mohapatra talked about the 4 D’s of new age HR management i.e. Data, Digital, Distributed leadership and Dynamic workforce. He also discussed the issues of millennial workforce; need for collaborative work management; digital experience of employees; digital workspace and other HR technologies.
Shri Gyan Pandey spoke on the topic “Creating Leadership pipeline in the organisation”. He talked about the essential Do’s & Don’ts of developing leadership traits in the employees. He introduced the concept of A.B.C.D i.e. Attitude, Behaviour, Character & Devotion classification of identifying talent within the organisation. He also talked about the 4 M’s of continuous Leadership Development i.e. Modelling, Motivating, Mentoring and Multiplying.
The Day II of the webinar was marked by the session of renowned and eminent speaker Dr.V.P Singh who delivered his session on “Future proofing of Talent”. He deliberated on the importance of making talent future-ready in view of the drastic changes in the human resource landscape. Taking the participants through the journey of evolution of HR from Industrial to internet and then to Digital era, Dr. Singh also dwelled on the causes of attrition in the organisations and Ulrich’s Four Role Model regarding the roles of HR in dealing with the business challenges. He also spoke in detail about the concept of ‘building agile leadership’ in the organisations. Dr. Singh’s session was followed by a panel discussion on “the issues and challenges in HRD in banks”. The panellists were Shri T.Dhanaraj, GM HRD, Indian Bank, Shri K.Praveen Kumar, Chairman AP Grameena Vikas Bank, Shri M.Anotnysamy John Peter, MD TNSCB and Shri Vivek Tiwari, CEO, Satya Microcapital Ltd., with Dr. V.P.Singh in the chair. The panellists shared the HR issues and challenges faced by them and also discussed the initiatives taken by them for addressing those challenges.
The webinar concluded with a vote of thanks by Dr. Shikha Tripathi and Mrs Samriti Bhagat, Faculty Members.

Virtual Exchange and Capacity Building Programme on DAE Accreditation Process of the Green Climate Fund (GCF) with Sri Lanka

As a part of the capacity building initiatives for international participants, BIRD has commenced a 4 day Virtual Exchange programme for representatives from 05 entities in Sri Lanka, who have evinced interest in becoming a Direct Access Entity (DACE) of the Green Climate Fund on 11 November 2021.

Welcoming the participants, Shri Shankar A Pande, Director, highlighted the unique position of NABARD and BIRD in the climate finance landscape, especially in the Asia Pacific and African regions. He emphasised that a majority of the $88 billion portfolio is largely focussed on initiatives pertaining to sustainable finance and adaptation measures. Appreciating the efforts made by the participating institutions as also the Government of Sri Lanka, Director, BIRD expressed that BIRD would definitely fulfil the desired capacity building requirements and stressed on the need for developing multilateral partnerships.
Shri C S R Murthy, CGM, FSDD, NABARD, HO shared NABARD’s perspective on climate with the participants and pointed out that since inception, NABARD has been actively associated with piloting and mainstreaming of a number of sustainable finance models, including watershed development and tribal development
Sharing the expectations of the climatically vulnerable tropical island nation, Ms Kumudini Nilanthi, Director (Climate Change), Ministry of Environment, Government of Sri Lanka appreciated the support received from BIRD and NABARD for organisation of the Exchange programme and expressed the need for developing DAEs at the national level.
Thereafter representatives from Commercial Bank of Ceylon PLC, Hatton National Bank PLC, NDB Bank PLC, HDFC PLC, and Industrial Services Bureau (ISB) shared their expectations from the programme.