Govt plans drive to provide remainning farmers with Kisan

The government is planning a drive to bring around seven crore remaining farmers under the Kisan Credit card scheme on the lines of Jan Dhan Yojna, agriculture minister Purushottam Rupala told the Rajya Sabha on Friday.

The Centre has already provided Kisan Credit Card to around 6.5 crore farmers and has plans to bring the rest under the cover.

This is a "priority scheme" of this government to bring the farmers under the institutional loans.

"There would be same drive for Kisan Credit card, which was for Jan Dhan Yojna," said Rupala, who is the minister of state for agriculture, while replying to a private member bill on farmers' issues.

He said under Jan Dhan Yojna, the government has added 30 crore banks accounts and wants to replicate the same success in adding farmers under Kisan Credit card.

"Presently only 6.5 crore farmers out of 14 crore are being able to get benefits of this institutional loans and rest are out from it," he said adding" The government had done work on mission mode to provide it."
"India is primarily an agrarian based economy with more than 55 per cent population engaged in farming. Besides there are 15 per cent people who are engaged in allied sectors. Thus there are 70 per cent population dependent on farm sector."