Govt pumps Rs 30,000 crore into Nabard, offers Rs 2-trn loan to farmers

Brings 25 million farmers under concessional loan scheme; experts say these measures do nothing to address basic problem of low farm prices and falling demand

The government on Thursday decided to extend additional refinance support of Rs 30,000 crore to the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (Nabard). This will be used to push liquidity through regional rural banks (RRBs) and co-operative institutions, and expand the ongoing drive to enlist 25 million new farmers for concessional credit as part of its Covid-19 relief package.
 

These measures, say critics, do nothing to address the fundamental problem of low prices and falling demand. The step to enlist 25 million new farmers into the existing concessional loan scheme does not have a time period, while in the