Govt notifies Sarangi's appointment as Nabard chairman

MUMBAI: The government has notified the appointment of Umesh Chandra Sarangi, principal secretary, the government of Maharashtra, as chairman of apex agricultural bank Nabard. The appointment followed the recommendations of the search committee constituted by the government.

Mr Sarangi, an IAS officer of the 1977 batch from Maharashtra, has worked largely in the fields of agriculture and rural development and has specialised in disaster management. He is credited with cleaning up state’s co-operative sector. He had earlier worked as co-operative commissioner and agri director of the state.

Speaking to ET soon after the appointment, Mr Sarangi had said “Revitalising institutional finance and bringing in financial discipline into the rural and co-operative credit system would be my top priority.” Mr Sarangi was part of the task force on Revival of Rural Cooperative Credit

Institutions, also known as the Vaidyanathan Committee. “My stint with the Vaidyanathan Committee would help me at Nabard,” he said.

He was associated with both reports the committee submitted and drafted the first one that sought Rs 50,000-crore credit for the co-operative sector. “There is a need to bring in rigorous auditing mechanism. That will be on top of my priority,” he added.