NABARD Unveils Rural Finance 2.0 at Earth Summit Hyderabad 2025

Shri Bhatti Vikramarka Mallu, Hon'ble Deputy Chief Minister of Telangana, speaking at the inaugural session of the Hyderabad edition of Earth Summit 2025-26 on the topic ‘Towards an Inclusive Economic Future: Empowering Rural India through Reform and Innovation’, said that the Telangana government’s investments in irrigation, digital crop records, and post-harvest systems are helping restore confidence among rural families. “These steps reflect our government's commitment to stand with the farmers not only in times of crisis, but also in their everyday journey towards prosperity,” he added.

Talking about the government’s vision towards rural growth, he further added: “All our efforts in Telangana, including digital infrastructure, agritech, fintech, renewable energy, and incubation networks, are part of one integrated vision - Rural growth must be exponential not incremental.”

Shri Tummala Nageswara Rao, Hon'ble Minister of Agriculture, Marketing, Co-operation, and Handlooms & Textiles, Government of Telangana, reaffirmed the government’s unwavering support. He said, “Agriculture is the foundation of our economy, and for India’s progress, we must strengthen our farmers through innovation, technology, and collective effort. The state government is ready to provide all necessary support to build a strong cooperative and marketing system that benefits every farmer.”

Highlighting the need for a resurgence in the cooperative ecosystem and talking about next-gen agricultural needs, NABARD Chairman, Mr. Shaji KV, said, “Rural Finance 2.0 architecture is being devised and driven by NABARD.” This will be integrated with digital real-time Kissan Credit Card and loans will be underwritten by data and not physical files. “We are working with the Government of India and the state governments, including the Telangana Government in digitising the cooperative ecosystem,” he added.

Talking about the potential of the rural economy, Mr. Shaji KV, said, “Rural India today has to become the real engines of growth. But for this, we need to fix two things - Developmental challenges, which can't be solved just by incremental changes, and the opportunities that cannot be unlocked by old tools or traditional thinking.” He emphasized the requirement of new systems, new institutions, new digital architectures, new partnerships, and more importantly, new imaginations, to create exponential growth.

The inaugural session was also addressed by Mr. Goverdhan Singh Rawat, Deputy Managing Director, NABARD and Dr. Ajay Kumar Sood, Deputy Managing Director, NABARD. They both reaffirmed NABARD’s commitment towards supporting the growth of the Indian rural economy and agricultural sector.

The Earth Summit 2025–26 is jointly organised by the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) and the Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI). The two-day summit is bringing together policymakers, startups, financial institutions, digital platforms, climate-tech innovators, and energy enterprises, from South, East, and North-east India under one roof to reimagine the future of rural India. This year’s Earth Summit opens in Hyderabad, with the next editions set to be held in Gandhinagar and Delhi.

The Summit is supported by key national institutions, including the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, Ministry of Panchayati Raj, and the Office of the Principal Scientific Adviser to the Government of India. Their involvement reflects a coordinated effort to strengthen rural development through technology and policy alignment.

Centered around the theme ‘Empowering Rural Innovation for Global Change’, the Hyderabad edition is being held at HITEX Exhibition Centre on November 20-21, 2025. It will host 2,000+ attendees, 80+ speakers and panelists, 50+ exhibitors, 25+ sessions, participation from 15 States and UTs, and 1 flagship hackathon.

Day 1 of Earth Summit in Hyderabad will feature an expansive line-up of keynotes, fireside chat, panel discussions and impact sessions with notable voices from the government including Shri Bhatti Vikramarka Mallu (Hon'ble Deputy Chief Minister of Telangana), Mr. Tummala Nageswara Rao, (Hon'ble Minister of Agriculture, Marketing, Co-operation, and Handlooms & Textiles, Government of Telangana), Mr. Shaji KV, Chairman (NABARD), Mr. Subho Ray, President (IAMAI), Mr. G S Rawat, Deputy Managing Director (NABARD), Mr. Chinmoy Kumar (Regional Director, RBI, Hyderabad), Mr. Ashish Choudhury (Chief Investment Officer, NABVENTURES) etc.