Abstract
The present study is based on agricultural credit planning and performance of priority sector lending in Dindigul District of Tamil Nadu using secondary data in Lead Bank Office records. The analysis includes annual targets and actual disbursements in 2022-23 to 2024-25 in five sub-sectors, namely; crop loans, term loans and allied activities, agricultural infrastructure and ancillary activities. In measuring target achievement and changes in patterns of credit allocation over time, the paper utilizes a descriptive cum analytical framework. The results provide sub-sector-level information and can help policy makers to enhance the district-level Annual Credit Plan and increase the developmental effects of institutional agricultural finance
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