Lok Sabha Question No. 1378 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2025-02-11
Subject: Farmers' Indebtedness
Ministry: AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE
Asked by: Smt. Rachna Banerjee

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE

## DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 1378

TO BE ANSWERED ON THE 11 TH  FEBRUARY, 2025

## FARMERS' INDEBTEDNESS 1378. SMT. RACHNA BANERJEE:

Will the Minister of AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE कृ ͪष और ͩकसान कãयाण मंğी be pleased to state:

- (a) the details of average amount of debt per farmer in the country during each of the last five years, highlighting trends and challenges, State-wise;
- (b)  the  key  measures  taken  by  the  Government  including  loan  waivers,  interest subvention  and  financial  assistance  schemes  to  reduce  farmer  indebtedness  in  the country; and
- (c) the details of the effectiveness of these measures in alleviating the burden of debt on farmers?

## ANSWER

THE MINISTER OF STATE FOR AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE कृ ͪष और ͩकसान कãयाण राÏय मंğी (SHRI RAMNATH THAKUR)

- (a): As per the latest NSS 77 th  round of the Survey by the National Statistics Office (NSO), Ministry  of  Statistics  and  Programme  Implementation  (MoSPI)  with  reference  to  the agricultural  year July,  2018- June,  2019 in  the rural areas of  the  country, the state-wise average amount of outstanding loan per agricultural household during 2018-19 is given at Annexure.
- (b) & (c): The details are as follow:
- I. The government is implementing a 100% centrally funded Central Sector Scheme known as the Modified Interest Subvention Scheme (MISS) across India. This scheme aims to provide concessional interest rates on short-term agricultural loans obtained by farmers through Kisan Credit Cards (KCC) for their working capital requirements.

Under this scheme, farmers receive KCC loans at a subsidized interest rate of 7%. To  facilitate  this,  an  upfront  interest  subvention  (IS)  of  1.5%  is  provided  to  financial institutions.  Additionally,  farmers  who  repay  their  loans  promptly  receive  a  3%  Prompt Repayment Incentive (PRI), effectively reducing the interest rate to 4% per annum. The benefits of IS and PRI are available for loan limits up to Rs.3 lakhs. However, if the shortterm loan is taken for allied activities (other than crop husbandry), the loan amount is limited to Rs.2 lakhs only.

Under MISS, funds are released to Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) for Settlement of claims received under the scheme from various Banks.

II. Financial Support under PM KISAN Scheme: The PM-KISAN scheme is a central sector scheme launched in February 2019 by the Hon'ble Prime Minister to supplement the financial needs of land-holding farmers. Under the scheme, a financial benefit of Rs 6,000/per year is transferred in three equal instalments, into the Aadhaar seeded bank accounts of farmers through Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) mode.

A farmer-centric digital infrastructure has ensured the benefits of the scheme reach all  the  farmers  across  the  country  without  involvement  of  any  middlemen.  Maintaining absolute transparency in registering and verifying beneficiaries, the Government of India has disbursed over Rs 3.46 lakh Cr. in 18 installments since inception.

III. Financial  Support under Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana: The Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY)  introduced in the country from 2016, provides for comprehensive risk insurance against crop damage due to non-preventable natural risks from  pre-sowing  to  post-harvest  for  the  crops/areas  notified  by  the  concerned  State Government. The scheme has already become the number one crop insurance scheme in the world in terms of farmer applications enrolled. In terms of gross premium, scheme is the 3 rd  largest in the world.

As per provisions of the scheme, actuarial/ bidded premium rate is charged by the insurance companies. But the farmer has to pay only a maximum premium of 1.5% and 2%  for  Rabi  and  Kharif  food  and  oilseed  crops  respectively  and  5%  for  commercial/ horticultural crops. Remaining part of the actuarial/ bidded premium is shared on 50 : 50 basis by the Central and concerned State Government except in North Eastern States where it is shared in the ratio of 90 : 10.

## STATEMENT IN REPLY TO PART (a) OF LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 1378 TO BE ANSWERED ON 11/02/2024 REGARDING FARMERS' INDEBTEDNESS.

| Sl.No.   | State/Group of NE States/ Group of UTs   | Average amount (Rs.) of outstanding loan per agricultural household   |
|----------|------------------------------------------|-----------------------------------------------------------------------|
| 1        | Andhra Pradesh                           | 2,45,554                                                              |
| 2        | Arunachal Pradesh                        | 3,581                                                                 |
| 3        | Assam                                    | 16,407                                                                |
| 4        | Bihar                                    | 23,534                                                                |
| 5        | Chhattisgarh                             | 21,443                                                                |
| 6        | Gujarat                                  | 56,568                                                                |
| 7        | Haryana                                  | 1,82,922                                                              |
| 8        | Himachal Pradesh                         | 85,825                                                                |
| 9        | Jammu & Kashmir                          | 30,435                                                                |
| 10       | Jharkhand                                | 8,415                                                                 |
| 11       | Karnataka                                | 1,26,240                                                              |
| 12       | Kerala                                   | 2,42,482                                                              |
| 13       | Madhya Pradesh                           | 74,420                                                                |
| 14       | Maharashtra                              | 82,085                                                                |
| 15       | Manipur                                  | 5,551                                                                 |
| 16       | Meghalaya                                | 2,237                                                                 |
| 17       | Mizoram                                  | 23,485                                                                |
| 18       | Nagaland                                 | 1,750                                                                 |
| 19       | Odisha                                   | 32,721                                                                |
| 20       | Punjab                                   | 2,03,249                                                              |
| 21       | Rajasthan                                | 1,13,865                                                              |
| 22       | Sikkim                                   | 32,185                                                                |
| 23       | Tamil Nadu                               | 1,06,553                                                              |
| 24       | Telangana                                | 1,52,113                                                              |
| 25       | Tripura                                  | 23,944                                                                |
| 26       | Uttarakhand                              | 48,338                                                                |
| 27       | Uttar Pradesh                            | 51,107                                                                |
| 28       | West Bengal                              | 26,452                                                                |
|          | Group of N E States                      | 10,034                                                                |
|          | Group of UTs                             | 25,629                                                                |
|          | All India                                | 74,121                                                                |

Source: NSS Report No. 587: Situation Assessment of Agricultural Households and Land and Livestock Holdings of Households in Rural India, 2019

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