Bankers Institute of Rural Development (BIRD) was established by the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) in 1983 as a premier institute for providing training, research and consultancy services in the field of agriculture and rural development banking in India. Its vision is to emerge as the premier Institute of the developing world offering training, research and consultancy services to its customers and undertaking other related activities in the field of agriculture and rural development banking. BIRD meets the training, consultancy and research needs of financial institutions and also other organizations working in Government as well as Non-Government sectors in the areas of Rural Credit and Rural Development.

A Centre for Microfinance Research(CMR) has been set up within BIRD for facilitating policy initiatives and improvements in the design and delivery systems of microfinance services.