Raj govt to offer guarantee for loans to fund farm debt waiver

The Rajasthan government has agreed to offer bank guarantee to take a loan of Rs 5,000 crore from banks for rolling out the debt waiver scheme for farm loans of up to Rs 50,000 to benefit more than 29 lakh small and marginal farmers, a state minister said today.

Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje in the budget for 2018-19 announced a one-time loan waiver of up to Rs 50,000 for small and marginal farmers along with a budgetary provision of Rs 2,000 crore.

"The state government has agreed to offer a bankguaranteefor taking loan of Rs 5,000 crore from banks to keep its promise ofloan waiver to farmers of the state," Rajasthan Cooperatives Minister Ajay Singh Kilak said.

He said that in a meeting of a group of ministers held today the chief minister desired to distribute certificates to farmers during her public address in Banswara district on May 31.

The camps, which were to be held on May 26 and 28, have been deferred to May 31 when the chief minister will be distributing loan waiver certificates to farmers in Banswara district, Kilak said adding that regular camps will be organised in June.

The minister claimed that taking credit from bank would not pose a problem for his department.

We will get Rs 5,000 crore from banks. We will get 60 per cent funds from refinance that apex banks get from Nabard and 40 per cent from cooperative banks. The government has given bank guarantee, he said.

The burden on the state treasury due to the loan waiver to over 29 lakh farmers is expected to be close to Rs 8,000 crore.