Lok Sabha Question No. 4293 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2025-08-19
Subject: Farmers' Suicides due to Agricultural Debt
Ministry: AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE
Asked by: Ms. Mahua Moitra

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 4293

TO BE ANSWERED ON THE 19 TH  AUGUST, 2025

## FARMER'S SUICIDE DUE TO AGRICULTURAL DEBT 4293.  MS MAHUA MOITRA:

Will the Minister of AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE कृ ͪष एवं ͩकसान कãयाण मंğी be pleased to state: (a) the current outstanding agricultural debt in the country, including data on formal and informal borrowings by small and marginal farmers, State-wise; (b) whether  the  Government  has  assessed  the  link  between  escalating  farm indebtedness  and  agrarian  suicides,  particularly  in  States  like  Maharashtra,  Punjab, Karnataka, and West Bengal; (c) whether the Government proposes a comprehensive, one-time farm loan waiver for small and marginal farmers to alleviate rural distress, alongside long-term measures to ensure affordable institutional credit and prevent debt traps; and if not, the reasons for rejecting this demand despite persistent farmer protests and

- (d) evidence of deepening rural economic distress?

## ANSWER

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

(a): As  per  National  Bank  for  Agriculture  and  Rural  Development  (NABARD),  the details of agriculture credit outstanding, as on 31 st  March, 2025 (provisional) including small and marginal farmers is given at Annexure-I . (b): The  National  Crime  Records  Bureau  (NCRB)  under  the  Ministry  of  Home  Affairs compiles  and  disseminates  information  on  suicides  in  its  publication  titled  'Accidental Deaths and Suicides in India' (ADSI). The report till 2022 is available on NCRB website (https://ncrb.gov.in). However, the ADSI reports do not provide any assessment regarding the link between escalating farm indebtedness and agrarian suicides. The reasons for suicides are wide ranging and not detailed in the report. Agriculture is a State Subject, Ex-gratia or relief is provided by State Governments as per State provisions & rules.

(c) & (d): At present, there is no proposal from the Department of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare for a comprehensive one-time farm loan waiver for small and marginal farmers. Agriculture being a State Subject, the State Governments take appropriate measures for development of  agriculture  in  the  State.  However,  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. Government has adopted and implemented several policies, reforms,  developmental programmes and schemes for achieving higher incomes  for  the  farmers  directly  or  indirectly  and  making  it  a  profitable  business.  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 .

Further, to improve credit access and reduce rural distress over the long term, 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.  Under  this  scheme, farmers receive KCC loans at a subsidized interest rate of 7%. To facilitate this, an up front 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 short-term loan is taken for allied activities (other than crop husbandry), the loan amount is limited to Rs. 2 Lakhs only.

## STATEMENT IN REPLY TO PART (a) OF LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 4293 TO BE ANSWERED ON 19/08/2025 REGARDING 'FARMER'S SUICIDE DUE TO AGRICULTURAL DEBT'.

| Agriculture Credit Outstanding as on 31 March 2025 (Provisional), Rs. crore   | Agriculture Credit Outstanding as on 31 March 2025 (Provisional), Rs. crore   | Agriculture Credit Outstanding as on 31 March 2025 (Provisional), Rs. crore   | Agriculture Credit Outstanding as on 31 March 2025 (Provisional), Rs. crore   |
|-------------------------------------------------------------------------------|-------------------------------------------------------------------------------|-------------------------------------------------------------------------------|-------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| Sr. No                                                                        | State/UT                                                                      | Total loans to Agriculture                                                    | Total loans pertaining to SF/MF                                               |
| 1.                                                                            | Chhattisgarh                                                                  | 29,290.78                                                                     | 9,780.87                                                                      |
| 2.                                                                            | Madhya Pradesh                                                                | 162,385.12                                                                    | 56,909.95                                                                     |
| 3.                                                                            | Uttar Pradesh                                                                 | 228,560.29                                                                    | 132,352.68                                                                    |
| 4.                                                                            | Uttarakhand                                                                   | 15,178.97                                                                     | 6,154.99                                                                      |
|                                                                               | Central region                                                                | 435,415.16                                                                    | 205,198.48                                                                    |
| 5.                                                                            | A and N Island                                                                | 278.88                                                                        | 136.69                                                                        |
| 6.                                                                            | Bihar                                                                         | 95,578.07                                                                     | 55,284.62                                                                     |
| 7.                                                                            | Jharkhand                                                                     | 20,421.63                                                                     | 9,933.52                                                                      |
| 8.                                                                            | Odisha                                                                        | 79,329.98                                                                     | 51,796.08                                                                     |
| 9.                                                                            | West Bengal                                                                   | 86,033.70                                                                     | 48,079.25                                                                     |
|                                                                               | Eastern Region                                                                | 281,642.26                                                                    | 165,230.16                                                                    |
| 10.                                                                           | Arunachal Pradesh                                                             | 491.44                                                                        | 261.96                                                                        |
| 11.                                                                           | Assam                                                                         | 20,803.77                                                                     | 12,714.60                                                                     |
| 12.                                                                           | Manipur                                                                       | 1,255.76                                                                      | 861.96                                                                        |
| 13.                                                                           | Meghalaya                                                                     | 1,053.75                                                                      | 892.20                                                                        |
| 14.                                                                           | Mizoram                                                                       | 1,439.38                                                                      | 920.95                                                                        |
| 15.                                                                           | Nagaland                                                                      | 750.32                                                                        | 564.29                                                                        |
| 16.                                                                           | Sikkim                                                                        | 385.19                                                                        | 152.42                                                                        |
| 17.                                                                           | Tripura                                                                       | 4,267.09                                                                      | 3,509.32                                                                      |
|                                                                               | North Eastern Region                                                          | 30,446.70                                                                     | 19,877.70                                                                     |
| 18.                                                                           | Chandigarh UT                                                                 | 2,536.30                                                                      | 344.88                                                                        |
| 19.                                                                           | Delhi                                                                         | 26,749.61                                                                     | 11,358.83                                                                     |
| 20.                                                                           | Haryana                                                                       | 99,026.93                                                                     | 28,737.58                                                                     |
| 21.                                                                           | Himachal Pradesh                                                              | 14,293.23                                                                     | 9,984.34                                                                      |
| 22.                                                                           | Jammu and Kashmir                                                             | 11,716.59                                                                     | 6,440.52                                                                      |
| 23.                                                                           | Ladakh                                                                        | 349.78                                                                        | 234.70                                                                        |
| 24.                                                                           | Punjab                                                                        | 104,353.28                                                                    | 46,666.88                                                                     |
| 25.                                                                           | Rajasthan                                                                     | 187,322.27                                                                    | 91,604.78                                                                     |
|                                                                               | Northern Region                                                               | 446,347.99                                                                    | 195,372.50                                                                    |
| 26.                                                                           | Andhra Pradesh                                                                | 308,716.83                                                                    | 211,657.36                                                                    |
| 27.                                                                           | Karnataka                                                                     | 222,301.82                                                                    | 114,942.85                                                                    |
| 28.                                                                           | Kerala                                                                        | 152,198.71                                                                    | 110,652.43                                                                    |
| 29.                                                                           | Lakshadweep UT                                                                | 33.61                                                                         | 28.92                                                                         |
| 30.                                                                           | Puducherry                                                                    | 18,535.99                                                                     | 4,328.22                                                                      |
| 31.                                                                           | Tamil Nadu                                                                    | 403,367.45                                                                    | 268,927.94                                                                    |
| 32.                                                                           | Telangana                                                                     | 144,346.41                                                                    | 93,316.54                                                                     |
|                                                                               | Southern Region                                                               | 1,249,500.82                                                                  | 803,854.26                                                                    |
| 33.                                                                           | D and N Haveli UT                                                             | 171.33                                                                        | 58.69                                                                         |
| 34.                                                                           | Daman and Diu UT                                                              | 108.43                                                                        | 46.15                                                                         |
| 35.                                                                           | Goa                                                                           | 2,016.40                                                                      | 1,143.15                                                                      |
| 36.                                                                           | Gujarat                                                                       | 144,330.45                                                                    | 65,585.97                                                                     |
| 37.                                                                           | Maharashtra                                                                   | 260,799.90                                                                    | 134,659.71                                                                    |
|                                                                               | Western Region                                                                | 407,426.51                                                                    | 201,493.68                                                                    |
|                                                                               | Grand Total                                                                   | 2,850,779.43                                                                  | 1,591,026.77                                                                  |

Source: NABARD

## STATEMENT IN REPLY TO PART (c) & (d) OF LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.  4293  TO  BE  ANSWERED  ON  19/08/2025  REGARDING  'FARMER'S  SUICIDE DUE TO AGRICULTURAL DEBT'.

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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