<div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;">Finance Minister Arun Jaitley today said, the priority sector lending target of 11 lakh crore rupees is achievable next fiscal and it will help farmers double their income by 2022.&nbsp;</div>''<div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;"><br />''</div>''<div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;">Addressing the board of National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development, NABARD in New Delhi, Mr Jaitley stressed on the need for all stakeholders to collaborate to improve the income of farmers.&nbsp;</div>''<div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;"><br />''</div>''<div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;">He said, the banking sector must invest in long-term assets to improve the capital formation in the agriculture sector. He said, investment in financial technology over the past few years has brought-in efficiency, speed and transparency in the rural financial ecosystem.&nbsp;</div>''<div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;"><br />''</div>''<div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;">The Minister also reviewed the funds announced in the earlier Union Budgets.&nbsp;</div>''<div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;"><br />''</div>''<div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;">Addressing the meeting, Financial Services Secretary Rajiv Kumar said, financial inclusion and adoption of technologies are necessities to make use of the opportunities arising out of higher GDP growth. He asked the banking sector to concentrate on geographies like North East, East and Central India where the formal credit can give a fillip to growth potential these areas offer. He said, Department of Financial Services is actively engaged with other ministries to create an enriching eco-system.&nbsp;</div>''<div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;"><br />''</div>''<div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;">NABARD Chairman Harsh Kumar Bhanwala said that his office has operationalised the funds announced in the previous union budget.&nbsp;</div>''<div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;"><br />''</div>''<div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;">He said, the Pradhan Mantri Grameen Awas Yojana is about to be supported through 9,000 crore rupees shortly and 5,000 crore rupees Micro Irrigation Fund which will promote water conserving and productivity-enhancing technologies will also be operationalised shortly. He emphasized the need for formation of robust farmer producers organisations and committed to the finance minister that Nabard will form Farmer Producer Organisations quickly.&nbsp;</div>''<div class="yj6qo" style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;"></div>