Dr. G R Chintala former Chairman of National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD), India’s Apex Development Financial Institution of the country. He was also the Chairman of NABARD Consultancy Services (NABCONS) Ltd., NABVENTURES Ltd., and NABFOUNDATION. He is on the Board of prestigious institutions like Institute for Rural Management (IRMA), DICGC, and also on the Advisory Board of IIM, Ahmedabad.
A Post Graduate in Seed Science and Technology from the world-renowned Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI), New Delhi, Dr. Chintala has had a phenomenal journey in the development sector; a journey that has seen him taking up multiple prestigious assignments in Andhra Pradesh, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka, Andaman & Nicobar Islands and of course in New Delhi where he represented NABARD in front of the Government of India.
During this illustrious career of 35 years, he has several achievements to his credit. Prior to taking over as Chairman, Dr. Chintala was the Managing Director of NABARD Financial Services (NABFINS) Ltd., the microfinance lending subsidiary of NABARD. He was also the Director of Bankers Institute of Rural Development (BIRD), Lucknow, one of the Premier institutes of the Developing World which offers Training, Research and Consultancy services in the field of agriculture and rural development banking. A live wire speaker, he has, in his capacity as a Faculty Member of BIRD, trained several hundreds of professionals from banking and NGO sectors.
Dr. Chintala was also a Director on the Board of Agriculture Insurance Company (AIC) as also on the board of several RRBs/State Cooperative Banks across the country and National level NBFCs of GOI. Working closely with various State Governments and banks at the highest level, his contribution has been immense in varied sectors like credit planning and monitoring, funding for rural infrastructure, and implementation of innovative and pioneering projects across the nation. Among the many of these achievements, the role played by Dr. Chintala in the sectors of social and economic empowerment of rural women through financial inclusion merits a special mention.
As Head of the Micro Credit Innovation Department (mCID) in NABARD, Dr. Chintala conceptualized, designed, and rolled out the digitization of the world’s largest microfinance program under project ‘e-Shakti’ and also played a vital role in driving the world’s largest poverty alleviation cum women empowerment program, the SHG movement comprising 10 million groups, covering 100 million members.
He has made his presence felt both at home and abroad through his official engagements that have taken him to over 20 countries where he has presented papers on a host of development areas.