Punjab co-op banks gave Rs 6,666.10 cr loans in '04-05

Co-operative banks in Punjab had provided agricultural loans worth Rs 6,666.10 crore during the financial year 2004-05 and earned a profit of Rs 165.08 crore, State Co-operative and Horticulture Minister Jasjit Singh Randhawa said today.

The banks also reduced their interest rate on crop loans from 14.5 per cent to 10 per cent, he said here.

He said the Punjab State Co-Operative Bank, through its 19 central cooperative banks and its 811 branches, had provided agriculture credit of Rs 5,901.70 crore during the financial year 2004-05 compared with Rs 5,711 crore during 2003-04.

The bank earned a profit of Rs 134.21 crore, he said, adding that as many as 7.96 lakh farmers had been issued kisan credit cards till October 31, 2005.

The farmers could raise instant loans through these cards without being faced with any "harassment", he said, adding that the bank had increased the revolving cash credit limit from Rs 1.5 to 2 lakh and from Rs three to four lakh for farmers having land holdings of five and ten acres, respectively.