Lok Sabha Question No. 1108 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2017-07-21
Subject: Debt Ridden Farmers
Ministry: FINANCE
Asked by: RAMSINH PATALYABHAI RATHWA

## Government of India Ministry of Finance Department of Financial Services

## LOK SABHA

## Unstarred Question No. 1108 To be answered on Friday, July 21, 2017/Ashadha 30, 1939 (Saka) Debt Ridden Farmers

## 1108. SHRI RAMSINH RATHWA:

Will the Minister of FINANCE be pleased to state:

- (a) the number of debt ridden farmers during the last three years and current year, State/UT-wise;
- (b) whether per farmer debt burden is higher than the average annual per capita income in the country;
- (c) if so, the details thereof along with the reasons for rise in the indebtedness of farmers;
- (d) the steps taken/being taken by the Government in this regard;
- (e)  whether  the  Comptroller  and  Auditor  General  (CAG)  of  India  has  reported  about  irregularities  in agricultural debt waiver scheme in various Public Sector Banks (PSBs);and
- (f) if so, the details thereof, bank-wise and the details of action taken/being taken against such banks?

## Answer

The Minister of State in the Ministry of Finance (Shri  Santosh Kumar Gangwar)

- (a) to (d) The data on agricultural loans outstanding for the last three years are given below:-

(No. of accounts in  lakh & Amount in Rs. Crores)

| As on 31.03.2015   | As on 31.03.2015   | As on 31.03.2016*   | As on 31.03.2016*   | As on 31.03.2017*   | As on 31.03.2017*   |
|--------------------|--------------------|---------------------|---------------------|---------------------|---------------------|
| No. of A/cs        | Loan O/s           | No. of A/cs         | Loan O/s            | No. of A/cs         | Loan O/s            |
| 1,108.83           | 11,85,825.69       | 1,158.90            | 12,59,144.45        | 1,209.62            | 14,36,799.48        |

Source : NABARD

As per the provisional estimates of Annual National Income 2016-17 released by the Central Statistics Office (CSO), Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation, the per capita income at current prices during 2016-17 is estimated to be at the level of Rs. 1,03,219. National Sample Survey Office (NSSO) conducted Situation Assessment Survey (SAS) of Agricultural Households during NSS 70 th  round (January, 2013- December 2013) in the rural areas of the country for the reference period of the  agricultural  year  July  2012-  June  2013.  Based  on  the  results  of  the  survey,  estimated  average amount of outstanding loan per agricultural household as on date of the Survey was  Rs. 47,000/-.

(e) & (f): The Performance Audit of the Agricultural Debt Waiver and Debt Relief Scheme (ADWDRS), 2008 was carried out by the Comptroller & Auditor General of India (CAG) from April, 2011 to March, 2012 which reported various errors of inclusion and exclusion at the beneficiary level.

Based on the feedback during Exit Conference with CAG on 7.12.2012, the Government on 11.01.2013 directed all lending institutions to take immediate corrective action and re-verify all the claims under the Scheme. The lending institutions conducted the re-verification exercise, and a recovery of Rs. 627.68 crore  has  been  effected  in  cases  involving  grant  of  benefits  to  ineligible  beneficiaries,  extension  of excess benefits, claim of inadmissible charges/interest or for claims being outside the purview of the Scheme.  Disciplinary  action  has  been  initiated/taken  against  the  concerned  staff  by  the  lending institutions. Responsibility of auditors have been fixed accordingly by the lending institutions and FIRs were filed relating to cases of tampering of records.