the government had announced the provision of concessional credit of Rs. 2 lakh crore which is likely to benefit 2.5 crore farmers, including fishermen and dairy farmers
New Delhi: In an effort to buffer the agricultural sector from the shock of COVID-19, a special saturation drive is underway to provide concessional credit to farmers through Kisan Credit Card (KCC). As on 17 August, 1.22 crore KCCs have been sanctioned with credit limit of Rs. 1,02,065 crore. This will go a long way in reviving the rural economy and accelerating agricultural growth.
It may be recalled that as part of the Aatma Nirbhar Bharat Package, the government had announced the provision of concessional credit of Rs. 2 lakh crore which is likely to benefit 2.5 crore farmers, including fishermen and dairy farmers.
1.22 cr Kisan Credit Cards sanctioned with credit limit of Rs. 1.02 lakh cr
The Kisan Credit Card (KCC) scheme was launched in 1998 with the aim of providing short-term formal credit to farmers. Prime Minister Narendra Modi recently launched a saturation drive for distribution of Kisan Credit Cards (KCC) to all the beneficiaries under the PM-KISAN Scheme in Uttar Pradesh’s Chitrakoot.
While announcing about the Kisan Credit Card Nirmala Sitharaman said that “The government of India is going to give Rs 2 lakh crore concessional credit boost to 2.5 crore marginal farmers through Kisan Credit Card. Fishermen and Animal Husbandry farmers will also be included in this drive.” She further said that this will help around 2.5 crore marginal farmers to become ‘self-reliant’ or ‘aatmnirbhar.’
Under this initiative, over 25 lakh beneficiaries of PM Kisan across the country have been provided KCC and over 2,000 bank branches in rural areas have been tasked with providing the KCC to farmers. Note that owner cultivators, as well as tenant farmers, can avail loans on these KCCs to meet their agricultural needs at attractive rates of interest. State Bank of India (SBI), country’s largest lender, offer farmers Kisan credit card (KCC).
Source: sea.operanewsapp.com
