RBI may launch ULI platform within a month, says NABARD’s Goverdhan Rawat

Goverdhan S. Rawat, Deputy Managing Director, National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is expected to launch the Unified Lending Interface platform within a month, Goverdhan S. Rawat, Deputy Managing Director, National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development told Moneycontrol in an exclusive interview.

“We are already working with the RBI for ULI, and we have already signed an MoU with RBI. We are ready with all the formalities and the platform is ready. It is possible to launch within a month,” Rawat said.

On August 26, RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das said the central bank is running a pilot of Unified Lending Interface or ULI, a technological platform that aims to provide a friction-less credit by cutting down the time taken for appraisal, especially for rural and smaller borrowers.

ULI is expected to cater to a large unmet demand for credit across various sectors, particularly for agricultural and MSME borrowers, the governor said, adding that a nationwide launch will take place soon.

Rawat said that all the technological testing has been done, and we are testing it for last one year. “Nothing is pending as of now, just final touchup is pending and then we can launch.”

The RBI had, in August 2023, launched a frictionless credit platform for banks. The platform was aimed at easing the lending process for banks to lend in a few seconds to borrowers. The frictionless credit platform has been renamed as ULI and will now include banks and non-bank lenders like fintechs, NBFCs.

Apart from this, Rawat, during an interview, also said that 'Agri-SURE' fund, a Rs 750-crore agri fund for startups and rural enterprises, which was announced in July, will be launched on September 3.

“The Agri Sure fund will be launched on September 3,” Rawat said.

Rawat further added that NABARD is getting a lot of interest from start-ups after the fund was announced.

This fund aims to promote investment in innovative, technology-driven, high-risk, and high-impact activities in agriculture and allied areas, NABARD said in a statement in July.

Managed by NABVENTURES, a wholly-owned subsidiary of NABARD, the fund is structured to support approximately 85 agri startups with investment sizes of up to Rs 25 crore each by the end of its term, it said.

The fund will provide support through investments in sector-specific, sector-agnostic, and debt Alternative Investment Funds (AIFs), as well as direct equity support to startups, it said.

Further, NABARD has sanctioned Rs 6,000 crore loan to Maharashtra government for irrigation projects.

“We have sanctioned around Rs 6,000 crore to Maharashtra government for irrigation projects, now it is just a matter of their implementation plan and clearance of the documentation,” Rawat said.

Rawat added that the total amount is Rs 15,000 crore, but NABARD got proposal of Rs 6,000 crore, which have been approved.