Lok Sabha Question No. 2739 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2025-08-05
Subject: Agricultural Debt Burden
Ministry: AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE
Asked by: Smt. Bharti Pardhi, Shri Bhausaheb Rajaram Wakchaure, Shri Shrirang Appa Chandu Barne

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE

## DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2739

TO BE ANSWERED ON THE 05 TH  AUGUST, 2025

## AGRICULTURAL DEBT BURDEN

2739.  SMT. BHARTI PARDHI: SHRI SHRIRANG APPA CHANDU BARNE: SHRI BHAUSAHEB RAJARAM WAKCHAURE:

Will the Minister of AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE क ृ िष एवं िकसान कʞाण मंũी be pleased to state:

- (a) the total estimated agricultural debt burden on Indian farmers, particularly in States of Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra;
- (b) whether any comprehensive study on the causes and extent of indebtedness of farmers has been conducted recently by the Government, if so, the conclusions thereof;
- (c) whether  any  concrete  steps  being  taken  to  provide  meaningful  debt-relief  to distressed farmers apart from ad-hoc loan waiving;
- (d) the extent to which the interest subsidy schemes are effective for agricultural loans;
- (e) whether  these  benefits  are  reaching  the  targeted  beneficiaries  being  availed adequately, if so, the details thereof;
- (f) whether any measures are in place to prevent their misuse or diversion; and
- (g) the steps being taken by the Government to make the farmers debt free and provide them financial support?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF STATE FOR AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE क ृ िष एवं िकसान कʞाण राǛ मंũी (SHRI RAMNATH THAKUR)

(a)  &  (b):  The  National  Statistics  Office  (NSO),  Ministry  of  Statistics  and  Programme Implementation (MoSPI) conducted a Situation Assessment Survey (SAS) of Agricultural Households during NSS 77th round (January, 2019 - December, 2019) with reference to the agricultural year July, 2018- June, 2019 in the rural areas of the country. As per the SAS, the loan was taken for different purposes which include capital expenditure in farm business,  revenue  expenditure  in  farm  business,  non-farm  business,  for  housing, marriages and ceremonies, education and medical, other consumption expenditure and others. The average amount of outstanding loan per agricultural household for different States/UTs  including  Madhya  Pradesh  and  Maharashtra  during  agricultural  year  July, 2018- June, 2019 is given in Annexure-I.

(c) to (e): The government is implementing a 100% centrally funded Central Sector Scheme known as the Modified lnterest Subvention Scheme (MISS) across various States and UTs in pan lndia. 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. Due to KCC-MISS scheme access to easy and affordable credit has increased significantly  to  farmers  to  meet  their  operational  needs.  The  number  of  operative  KCC accounts has reached to 7.72 crore in 2024-25, which has contributed to an increase in credit extended amount from Rs.14.26 lakh crore in 2013-14 to Rs. 10.20 lakh crore in 2024-25.

The budget allocation for interest subvention under MISS to farmers has increased 3.7 times rising from Rs. 6,000 crore in 2014-15 to Rs. 22,600 crore in 2024-25. Over the past eleven  years,  farmers  have  availed  Rs.1.62  lakh  crore  as  interest  subvention  on  loans through KCCs.

Similarly, the total credit flow to the agriculture sector has nearly grown four times rising from Rs. 7.3 lakh crore in 2013-14 to Rs. 28.69 lakh crore in 2024-25. Out of which, Credit disbursed to small and Marginal Farmers (SMFs) has grown to Rs. 14.35 lakh crore during this period.

Besides KCC-MISS, Agriculture Infrastructure Fund (AIF) also provide institutional credit to farmers. Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY) provides financial support to farmers suffering crop loss/damage arising out of unforeseen events and ensure flow of credit to the agriculture sector.  By offering loans/financial support, these schemes help reduce the cost of borrowing, encourage timely repayment, and promote better credit discipline. They also reduce dependence on informal credit sources and help bridge short-term credit gaps during critical periods like sowing and harvesting.

(f) : To ensure transparency and efficiency in administering MISS, a digital platform namely Kisan Rin Portal (KRP) has been launched by the Government of India in September 2023. This portal facilitates the prompt settlement of claims related to the MISS and helps simplify and speed up the loan disbursement process to identified beneficiaries. All the beneficiaries are authenticated and verified based on Aadhar to prevent misuse.

(g):  Government  of  India  is  committed  to  enhance  the  welfare  of  farmers  and  making agriculture  more  remunerative.  Government  of  India  supplements  the  efforts  of  States through  appropriate  policy  measures  and  budgetary  support  and  various  schemes/ programmes.  The  Government  has  substantially  enhanced  the  budget  allocation  of Department of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare(DA&FW) from Rs. 21933.50 crore BE during 2013-14 to Rs. 1,27,290.16 crore BE during 2025-26.  The various schemes/ programmes of the Government of India are meant for the welfare of farmers by increasing production, remunerative returns and income support to farmers. These schemes encompass entire spectrum of agriculture including credit, insurance, income support, infrastructure, crops including  horticulture,  seeds,  mechanization,  marketing,  organic  and  natural  farming, farmer collectives, irrigation, extension, procurement of crops from farmers at minimum support prices, digital agriculture etc. Additionally, Government had increased MSPs for all mandated Kharif, Rabi and other Commercial crops with a minimum return of 50 percent over all India weighted average cost of production from 2018-19 onwards. List of Central Sector  and  Centrally  Sponsored  Schemes  being  implemented  by  Department  of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare (DA&FW) is given in Annexure-II .

## STATEMENT IN REPLY TO PART (a) OF LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2739  TO  BE  ANSWERED  ON  05/08/2025  REGARDING  'AGRICULTURAL  DEBT BURDEN'.

| 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

## STATEMENT IN REPLY TO PART (g) OF LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2739 ANSWERED ON 05/08/2025 REGARDING AGRICULTURAL DEBT BURDEN

Major  schemes/programmes  meant  for  the  welfare  of  farmers  by  increasing production, remunerative returns and income support to the farmers:

1. National Food Security and Nutrition Mission (NFSNM)
2. National Mission on Edible Oils (NMEO)-Oil Palm
3. National Mission on Edible Oils (NMEO)-Oilseeds
4. National Mission on Natural Farming (NMNF)
5. Paramparagat Krishi Vikas Yojana (PKVY)
6. Soil Health & Fertility (SH&F)
7. Rainfed Area Development (RAD)
8. Agroforestry
9. Crop Diversification Programme (CDP)
10. Sub-Mission on Agriculture Extension (SMAE)
11. Sub-Mission on Seed and Planting Material (SMSP)
12. Mission for Integrated Development of Horticulture (MIDH)
13. National Bamboo Mission
14. National Bee Keeping and Honey Mission (NBHM)
15. Mission Organic Value Chain Development for North Eastern Region
16. Per Drop More Crop (PDMC)
17. Integrated Scheme for Agriculture Marketing (ISAM)
18. Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM-KISAN)
19. Pradhan Mantri Kisan Maan Dhan Yojana (PM-KMY)
20. Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY)/ Restructured Weather Based Crop Insurance Scheme (RWBCIS)
21. Pradhan Mantri Annadata Aay SanraksHan Abhiyan (PM-AASHA)
22. Modified Interest Subvention Scheme (MISS)
23. Agriculture Infrastructure Fund (AIF)
24. Formation and Promotion of 10,000 new Farmer Producers Organizations (FPOs)
25. Namo Drone Didi
26. Agri Fund for Start-Ups & Rural Enterprises (AgriSURE)
27. Sub-Mission on Agriculture Mechanization (SMAM)
28. Digital Agriculture Mission

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