Step 1: Understanding the Concept:
Tracking the development of agricultural credit and rural banking institutions helps illustrate the structural history of rural financing in India.
Step 2: Detailed Explanation:
Let us establish the exact setup years for each institution:
1. RBI (Reserve Bank of India) [D]: Established on 1st April 1935 under the Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934.
2. ARDC (Agricultural Refinance and Development Corporation) [A]: Set up initially as the Agricultural Refinance Corporation (ARC) in 1963, and later renamed ARDC in 1975.
3. AFC (Agricultural Finance Corporation) [B]: Incorporated in 1968 to facilitate commercial bank lending to agriculture.
4. NABARD (National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development) [C]: Established on 12th July 1982 to consolidate rural credit planning and operations.
Thus, the correct chronological order from earliest to latest is D (1935) $\rightarrow$ A (1963) $\rightarrow$ B (1968) $\rightarrow$ C (1982).
Step 3: Final Answer:
The sequence corresponds to Option (D).