Synopsis The book in a single volume is a complete critical survey of rural banking in the sphere of agricultural financing in a planned economy of the country. This is indeed, one of the most comprehensive and analytical descriptions of the rural banking structure, system and policy presented as an integral part of the entire economy and over-all macro policy. Rural banking has now become a subject of both practical importance and academic analysis in India. Usually there is a wide gulf between those whose concern is the former and those whose mandate is the latter. This is unfortunate. In the last few decades the rural banking structure has been expanded spatially throughout the country. However, it has not been characterized by robust financial health and unfortunately over the years the structure of rural banking itself has been viewed as an enviable one. The moribund rural credit delivery system was part of the debris inherited from the 1990s. The existing network needs to be strengthened to make it vibrant. Similarly, the network of NGOs, ASHGs and other micro-credit institutions needs to be widened greatly. The snail’s pace at which NABARD is at present working would not do. Massive expansion of these institutions is an absolute necessity. In this book, I have attempted to give a comprehensive idea of all these aspects of rural banking and finance as a programme in India Planned period.