ALL KINDS of service charges like processing fee, inspection, ledger folio charges for loans up to ₹3.00 lakh has [sic] been waived off. Collateral free loan limit for short-term agri-credit has been raised from ₹1.00 lakh to ₹1.60 lakh. Union Minister of Agriculture and Farmers' Welfare Narendra Singh Tomar said this in the Lok Sabha in answer to a question on improving farmers' access to agricultural loans on December 14, 2021.
"Both the claims are hollow. Allahabad Bank made me pay ₹1,700 for my Kisan Credit Card (KCC) this May," says Hirawan, a farmer from Khargaura village in Shravasti district of Uttar Pradesh. "I also had to mortgage my 0.5 hectare (ha) farmland as collateral to avail a loan of ₹65,000. They have given me a cheque of only ₹60,000, saying that ₹5,000 will remain in the KCC account from which interest will be deducted," he adds.
India has several Central and state-level schemes offering farm loans, but almost all agricultural loans for day-to-day crop cultivation are disbursed through KCCS (see For all farming needs'). To understand the guidelines banks follow while issuing KCCs and the fee they charge, Down To Earth (DTE), between March and August, filed multiple queries under the Right To Information Act 2005 to the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and two of the country's largest public sector banks-the State Bank of India (SBI) and Punjab National Bank (PNB). The responses also contradict the minister's statement in the Lok Sabha.
Denne historien er fra September 16, 2022-utgaven av Down To Earth.
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Denne historien er fra September 16, 2022-utgaven av Down To Earth.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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A SPRIG TO CARE FOR
Punarnava, a perennial herb, is easy to grow and has huge health benefits
DIGGING A DISASTER
Soapstone mining near Dabti Vijaypur village has caused many residents to migrate.
REVIEW THE TREATMENT
Several faecal sludge treatment plants in Uttar Pradesh suffer from design flaws that make the treatment process both expensive and inefficient
MAKE STEEL SUSTAINABLE
As India works to double its GDP by 2030, its steel industry must balance growth with sustainability. By embracing policies like the Steel Scrap Recycling Policy 2019 and adopting green technologies, India is paving the way for a more sustainable future in steel production
Can ANRF pull off the impossible for India?
Anusandhan National Research Foundation is expected to reorient India's innovation goals but funding issues, old mindsets remain a drag
TROUBLED WOODS
Forests are a great bulwark against climate change. But this is fast changing. AKSHIT SANGOMLA travels through some of the pristine patches of the Western Ghats to explore how natural disturbances triggered by global warming now threaten the forest health
BLINDING GLOW
The science is clear: increased illumination has damaging consequences for the health of humans, animals and plants. It’s time governments introduced policies to protect the natural darkness and improved the quality of outdoor lighting.
GROUND REALITY
What happens when the soil loses the ability to grow healthy, high-yield crops on its own?
GM POLICY MUST BE FARMER CENTRIC
On July 23, the Supreme Court of India directed the Union government to develop a national policy on genetically modified (GM) crops for research, cultivation, trade and commerce through public consultation.
Vinchurni's Gandhi
A 96-year-old farmer transforms barren land into a thriving forest in drought-prone region of Satara
