Centre urged to provide debt swapping loans to eligible farmers

On an average, each farmer in TS is ridden with ₹1.52 lakh loan: survey

The State Commission for Debt Relief has urged the Centre to provide debt swapping loans to all needy farmers in the State as per the master directions of the Reserve Bank of India enabling them to clear their private loans. The government should take steps to provide increased amount of crop loans to all farmers to reduce their dependency on private money lenders. Steps should be taken to consider farming activity on par with MSME as it is providing employment to more than 50% of the population and provide loans up to ₹4 lakh without insisting on security. Commission chairman Nagurla Venkateshwarlu addressed separate letters to Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar and Finance Minister Nirmala Sitaraman urging the Centre to fulfil the promise of doubling farmers income by 2022. He was responding to National Statistics 77th Report which stated that most of the farming community was forced to depend on the mercy of private lenders who were charging exorbitant interest due to non-availability of loans.