Yogi Adityanath's farm loan waiver: SBI, PNB, Allahabad Bank top exposure

The state government has formed an eight-member committee to implement the decision

State Bank of India, Punjab National Bank and Allahabad Bank lead the pack of commercial banks with exposure to the agriculture sector in Uttar Pradesh, where the state government has decided to pay all crop loans owed by small and marginal farmers.  

As of December 2016, nine banks (also including Union Bank of India, Bank of India and Bank of Baroda) had extended loans worth Rs 70,046 crore to the agriculture sector in the state. Of this, crop loans were Rs 49,811 crore.

Total credit by commercial banks — covering public sector lenders, private banks and regional rural banks — was Rs 116,757 crore, with crop loans being Rs 87,759 crore.  

Keeping the ruling party's poll promise to small and marginal farmers, the Yogi Adityanath government on Tuesday approved waiver of loans of 21.5 million growers, totalling Rs 36,359 crore.

The state government has formed an eight-member committee under Chief Secretary Rahul Bhatnagar to implement the decision. Sources said the committee would formalise the loan waiver with the banks by April 21. It will also try to find ways for making payment to the banks by May 15, so that farmers will be in a position to avail of crop loans this year. There are 700,000 farmers in the state whose combined Rs 5,630-crore debt has been declared non-performing by the banks; they cannot get new loans.