Kisan Credit Card

Government data indicates that less than 40 per cent of MSMEs borrow from the formal financial system

In order to provide short term crop loans up to Rs 3 lakh to farmers at an interest rate of 7 per cent per annum, the government offers interest subvention of 2 per cent annually to banks

Union Minister L Murugan has said that Kisan Credit Card Scheme will be extended to fishermen to provide them loans at low interest rates.

Union Minister Parshottam Rupala on Sunday said the Centre will soon start a massive campaign to raise awareness about the Kisan Credit Card (KCC) for fishermen in the country

The standard operating procedures (SOPs) for extending the benefits under the Kisan Credit Cards (KCC) to all fishermen were getting ready, Union Minister of State L Murugan said here on Sunday.

The department is coordinating with banks to remove their apprehensions about issuance of KCC to livestock and dairy farmers, he said

The Finance Ministry said banks have sanctioned over Rs 1 trillion concessional loans to Kisan Credit Card (KCC) holders to help farmers meet financial requirements during the COVID-19 crisis.

The maximum amount of guaranteed emergency credit line (GECL) funding under the scheme would also correspondingly increase from Rs 5 crore at present to Rs 10 crore

As part of the Rs 20.97 trillion stimulus package, the government had announced Rs 2 trillion of concessional credit through KCC to 25 million farmers

Medium units' turnover limit hiked to Rs 250 crore

Brings 25 million farmers under concessional loan scheme; experts say these measures do nothing to address basic problem of low farm prices and falling demand

Agriculture credit targets have also been enhanced from Rs 9 trillion in 2016-17 to Rs 13.5 trillion in 2019-20

However, not many cards could be distributed to fish farmers due to lack of awareness and delay in issuing RBI guidelines for implementation of this facility, sources said.

There were also deliberations on allowing farmers to take fresh loans even if they fail to repay exsiting ones, as long as they service the interest

Several public banks are now focusing on agriculture infrastructure credit, like warehouses and cold storages, while the growth in KCC loans remains muted

The welfare implications of this policy remain ambiguous