Union Agriculture and Rural Development Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan Today, August 05, 2025, chaired a virtual meeting with officials from all banks and state governments, urging them to scale up farmer enrolment under the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY) for the current Kharif season and to expand credit access for women members of Self-Help Groups (SHGs) under the National Rural Livelihood Mission (NRLM).
Union Minister announced that a nationwide campaign will be held from August 16 to 30, aiming to provide crop insurance coverage to the maximum number of farmers during this Kharif season. He also directed banks to focus on women borrowers and increase credit disbursal in remote and difficult-to-reach areas to ensure inclusive rural development.
Chouhan said that under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership, India’s journey towards becoming a developed nation is gaining momentum. “The world is surprised and even worried seeing the direction and speed of India’s growth. We are now the fourth-largest economy and soon to be the third,” he said, adding that agriculture and rural development ministries have played a vital role in this progress.
Referring to SHGs, Chouhan said that over 90.9 lakh groups are active under NRLM, connecting more than 10 crore rural women. These groups have received Rs 11 lakh crore in loans so far. He praised banks for their contribution and highlighted the growing visibility of the ‘Lakhpati Didi’ initiative. “We have already crossed the 1.5 crore mark and are moving rapidly towards the 3 crore target set by the Prime Minister,” he noted.
However, he flagged that some states and districts are lagging in loan linkage, and called for focused interventions. While congratulating high-performing banks, he urged those below the national average to improve their outreach and efforts.
Chouhan highlighted that rural women have proven their credibility, with SHG-related NPAs remaining as low as 0.7%. He urged banks to also focus on individual loans for women beyond group-based lending. “If we want to make our sisters lakhpatis, personal credit will have to be strengthened too,” he said.
He also raised concerns over complaints from farmers and SHG members about banks demanding collateral for loans under Rs 2 lakh and asking for CIBIL scores. “Why are you troubling them with unnecessary paperwork?” Chouhan asked, instructing banks to ensure that farmers and women borrowers do not face any difficulties.
Chouhan further noted that around 1.44 lakh SHG women have been trained to become Business Correspondents (BC Sakhis), and called for their appointments to be expedited.
Highlighting the government’s achievements in rural credit, Chouhan said institutional agricultural lending has grown from Rs 7.3 lakh crore in 2013–14 to Rs 25.49 lakh crore in 2023–24. Loans issued through the Kisan Credit Card (KCC) scheme have crossed Rs 10.25 lakh crore in 2024–25. He said 75% of farm loans now come from banks, reducing dependency on private lenders. The average agricultural loan size has risen to Rs 1.27 lakh, with 62% of KCC accounts held in cooperative and rural banks.
NPA levels have improved significantly, coming down from 8.9% in 2019 to 2.2% in 2023.
The meeting was also attended by Agriculture Secretary Devesh Chaturvedi, Rural Development Secretary Shailesh Singh, along with senior officials from various banks and state governments who shared their views and suggestions.
