Shun farm debt waivers: Nabard

Nabard said such schemes should be only for needy people

Sharing the Reserve Bank of India’s reservations on agricultural loan waivers, the farm sector lender National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (Nabard) on Tuesday said such schemes should be only for needy people. There should not be blanket waivers, Nabard Chairman Harsh Kumar Bhanwala told reporters after announcing the organisation’s financial performance in 2016-17. The comments of the central government-owned refinancing agency have come a week after the Uttar Pradesh government announced a Rs 36,000-crore farm loan waiver package. There has a clamour for similar waivers in states such as Haryana, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu. Referring to them, Bhanwala said situation in each state was different. Banks, which take funds from the public, must get back their money, he said, adding how state governments made payments was a separate issue.