Lok Sabha Question No. 4142 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2017-08-11
Subject: Loan for Tenant Farmers
Ministry: FINANCE
Asked by: DEEPENDER SINGH HOODA

## Department of Financial Services

## Government of India Ministry of Finance LOKSABHA

Unstarred Question No. 4142 To be answered on Friday, August 11, 2017/Shravana 20, 1939 (Saka)

## Loan for Tenant Farmers

4142: SHRI DEEPENDER SINGH HOODA.

Will the Minister of FINANCE be pleased to state:

- (a)  whether  the  Government  has  taken  any  steps  to  ensure  the  availability  of institutionalised credit to landless tenant cultivators/farmers;
- (b) if so, the details thereof;
- (c) whether the Government has acted on Reserve Bank of India's recommendation to give credit eligibility certificates to tenant farmers; and
- (d) if so, the details thereof and the steps taken by the Government in this regard?

## Answer

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

(a) to (d): In terms of Reserve Bank of India (RBI), Master Direction dated 07 July 2017 on Priority Sector Lending (PSL) - Targets and Classification, a target of 18 per cent of Adjusted Net Bank Credit (ANBC) or Credit Equivalent of Off-Balance Sheet Exposure (CEOBE), whichever is higher, is prescribed for Agriculture under priority sector  lending,  for  all  Scheduled  Commercial  Banks  operating  in  India.  Further,  a sub-target of 8% for small and marginal farmers has also been fixed which includes landless  agricultural  labourers,  tenant  farmers,  oral  lessees  and  share-croppers, Loans to Self Help Groups (SHGs) or Joint Liability Groups (JLGs), directly engaged in  Agriculture  and  Allied  Activities,  provided  banks  maintain  disaggregated  data  of such loans.

In terms of announcement in the Union Budget 2014-15, RBI has issued guidelines dated 13 November 2014, for financing 'BhoomiHeenKisan' to augment the flow of credit  to  landless  farmers  cultivating  land  as  tenant  farmers,  oral  lessees  or  share croppers  and  small/  marginal  farmers  as  well  as  other  poor  individuals  taking  up farm activities, off-farm activities and non-farm activities through JLG and bringing them into the fold of institutional credit.

As  per  extant  Kisan  Credit  Card  (KCC)  Scheme,  all  farmers  i.e.  individuals/joint borrowers  who  are  owner  cultivators,  tenant  farmers,  oral  lessees/share-croppers; and SHGs/ JLGs of farmers (which also includes tenant farmers, share croppers etc.) are  eligible  for  adequate  and  timely  credit  support  from  banking  system  for  their credit requirements for agriculture and allied activities.

The  benefits  of  Interest  Subvention  Scheme  is  extended  to  all  farmers  including tenant  farmers  availing  short  term  crop  loans.  Under  the  said  scheme,  short-term crop loans uptoRs. 3 lakh is provided to the farmers at a reduced interest rate at 7 percent per annum, which further gets reduced to 4 percent in case of prompt-payee farmers.

In  order  to  make  credit  available  and  also  augment  it  to  landless  farmers  such  as tenant  farmers,  oral  lessees,  share  croppers,  etc.  for  taking  up  farm  and  non-farm activities, NABARD has piloted and developed a credit product for JLGs. The JLGs facilitate hassle free credit to farmers both for short and long term purposes without collateral through the banking system.