Cabinet approves interest subvention scheme for farmers

The Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led Cabinet on Wednesday cleared the interest subvention scheme for farmers with an allotment of total expenditure of Rs. 20,339 crores in the current financial year as interest subsidy on short term crop loans.

The Cabinet has decided that the crop loans of up to Rs. three lakh will be made available to the prompt payee farmers at four percent interest rate only.

Also, approval of total expenditure of Rs. 20,339 crore in the current financial year as Interest subsidy on short-term crop loans has been approved too.

"#Cabinet approves Interest subvention for short term #CropLoans to farmers for the current year. #Cabinet: Crop Loans upto Rs. 3 lakhs made available to the prompt payee farmers at 4% interest rate only. #Cabinet has approved the total expenditure of Rs. 20,339 crore in the current financial year as #InterestSubsidy on short term crop loans," tweeted DG, Press Information Bureau, Frank Noronha.

This decision by the Union Cabinet comes at a time when the farmers in various parts of India are protesting to get their farm loans waived, with Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh taking the front on the issue.

Earlier, as an interim measure, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) had asked the banks to continue giving the discount on interest on short-term crop loans during the current fiscal.