Banks have covered 1.5 crore farmers under the Kisan Credit Card (KCC) scheme to sanction credit limit of Rs 1.35 lakh crore to help them meet financial requirements amid COVID-19 crisis, said the Finance Ministry.
The government has announced to cover 2.5 crore farmers under the KCC scheme with a credit boost of Rs 2 lakh crore through a special saturation drive, as part of the Aatmanirbhar Bharat Package.
An official statement said "As a result of concerted and sustained efforts by the banks and other stakeholders in the direction of providing access to concessional credit by the farmers, including fishermen and dairy farmers, a major milestone target of covering more than 1.5 crore farmers under KCC, with sanctioned credit limit of Rs.1.35 lakh crore has been achieved."
The statement added, while ensuring convenient & cost-effective credit delivery to farmers, the ongoing campaign will also be instrumental in driving the rural economy and further accelerating agricultural production and allied activities, besides enhancing the income level of farmers. This will also go a long way in fulfilling the objective of food security for the country.
The KCC Scheme was launched in the 1998 with the objectives of providing adequate and timely credit to farmers for their agricultural operation. Interest is provided by the Government of India at subvention of 2% and prompt repayment incentive of 3% to farmers, hence, making the credit available at a very subsidized rate of 4% per annum to the farmers.
The government has also taken major farmer friendly steps by extending the KCC benefits with interest subvention in 2019 to Animal Husbandry which includes Dairy and Fisheries farmers for their working capital requirement & raising the existing limit of collateral free agriculture loan from Rs 1 lakh to Rs 1.60 lakh.
Source: PTI
