By offering rural and semi-urban populations institutional credit, savings options, agricultural finance, microenterprise loans, insurance access, pension enrollment, remittance services, and digital banking capabilities, regional rural banks play a critical role in fostering inclusive rural development. With a focus on credit availability, income generation, and financial inclusion among rural households, the current empirical study investigates the effects of Karnataka Grameen Bank and Karnataka Vikas Grameena Bank on rural development in Karnataka. Primary data from rural households, farmers, members of self-help groups, agricultural laborers, artisans, and micro-entrepreneurs who have utilized the banking and credit services provided by these regional rural banks forms the basis of the study. Since Karnataka Gramin Bank and Karnataka Vikas Grameena Bank merged into Karnataka Grameena Bank on May 1, 2025, the research also takes into account the post-amalgamation context. Indicators including access to formal credit, loan utilization, household income, employment creation, agricultural investment, savings behavior, use of digital banking, participation in government financial schemes, women's financial participation, and a decrease in reliance on unofficial moneylenders are some of the ways the study plans to measure rural development. Data may be gathered using a structured questionnaire, and the relationship between bank services and rural development outcomes may be investigated using statistical methods like percentage analysis, mean score analysis, correlation, regression, chi-square test, ANOVA, and factor analysis. The study is anticipated to demonstrate that when credit is available, timely, affordable, productively utilized, and backed by institutional guidance and financial literacy, Regional Rural Banks have a positive impact on rural development. Policymakers, banks, NABARD, government agencies, and rural development organizations may find the findings useful in bolstering livelihood-based banking interventions, financial inclusion, credit delivery, and support for Self-Help Groups in Karnataka.
Kuranal et al. (Mon,) studied this question.