Lok Sabha Question No. 1473 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2015-07-29
Subject: Indebtness of Farmers
Ministry: STATISTICS AND PROGRAMME IMPLEMENTATION
Asked by: ADHIR RANJAN CHOWDHURY

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

## MINISTRY OF STATISTICS AND PROGRAMME IMPLEMENTATION

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 1473

## TO BE ANSWERED ON WEDNESDAY, THE 29 TH  JULY, 2015

## INDEBTNESS OF FARMERS

## 1473. SHRI ADHIR RANJAN CHOWDHURY:

Will the Minister of STATISTICS AND PROGRAMME IMPLEMENTATION be pleased to state:

- (a) whether  the  National  Sample  Survey  Organisation  (NSSO)  has recently  conducted  any  survey  to  find  out  the  average  annual loan  taken  by  farmers  and  if  so,  the  details  thereof,  State-wise including West Bengal;
- (b) whether  the  survey  has  found  that  the  cases  of  debt-trap  have increased in rural areas and if so, the details thereof; and
- (c) the actions taken by the Government in this regard?

## ANSWER

MINISTER OF STATE (INDEPENDENT CHARGE) FOR MINISTRY OF STATISTICS AND PROGRAMME IMPLEMENTATION, MINISTER OF STATE FOR  MINISTRY  OF  EXTERNAL  AFFAIRS  AND  MINISTER  OF  STATE  FOR MINISTRY  OF  OVERSEAS  INDIAN  AFFAIRS  [GENERAL  (Dr.)  V.K.  SINGH (Retd.)]

- (a): National  Sample  Survey Office (NSSO) conducted a Situation Assessment Survey (SAS) of Agricultural Households during January, 2013 -  December,  2013  in  the  rural  areas  of  the  country  with  respect  to  the agricultural year July, 2012 - June, 2013. In the survey, information on the amount of loan outstanding as on the date of survey was collected from each surveyed household. A statement on State-wise estimates (including West  Bengal)  of  average  amount  of  outstanding  loan  per  agricultural household as on the date of survey is given at the Annexure.
- (b): Information on increase of debt-trap in rural areas was not collected in the survey referred to in part (a) above.
- (c):  Farmers  are  indebted  to  both  institutional  and  non-institutional sources  of  credit.  However,  borrowing  from  non-institutional  sources  is the major reason for debt. In order to reduce the dependence of farmers

on  private  money  lenders  for  meeting  their  credit  needs  and  providing relief to the indebted farmers, Government has taken several measures to increase institutional credit flow and bringing down the rate of interest on farm loans. These measures, inter alia, include fixation of annual targets for improving agricultural credit flow, provision of crop loans upto Rs.3.00 lakh  @4%  per  annum  to  such  farmers  who  repay  their  loan  as  per  the repayment schedule fixed by the banks, extension of benefit of interest subvention scheme to small & marginal farmers having Kisan Credit Card for a further period upto six months  for storing their produce  in warehouses  against  negotiable  warehouse  receipts,  collateral  free  loan upto Rs.1.00 lakh, scheme for financing of Joint Liability Group (JLGs) etc.

Annexure

## Statement referred to in reply to part (a) of Lok Sabha Unstarred Question No. 1473 for 29.07.2015 *****

State-wise estimates of average amount of outstanding loan per agricultural household as on the date of survey

| State/ Group of UTs #   | estimates of average amount of outstanding loan* per agricultural household (Rs.)   | State/ Group of UTs #   | estimates of average amount of outstanding loan* per agricultural household (Rs.)   |
|-------------------------|-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|-------------------------|-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| (1)                     | (2)                                                                                 | (3)                     | (4)                                                                                 |
| Andhra Pradesh          | 123400                                                                              | Meghalaya               | 1400                                                                                |
| Arunachal Pradesh       | 5400                                                                                | Mizoram                 | 2900                                                                                |
| Assam                   | 3400                                                                                | Nagaland                | 600                                                                                 |
| Bihar                   | 16300                                                                               | Odisha                  | 28200                                                                               |
| Chhattisgarh            | 10200                                                                               | Punjab                  | 119500                                                                              |
| Gujarat                 | 38100                                                                               | Rajasthan               | 70500                                                                               |
| Haryana                 | 79000                                                                               | Sikkim                  | 9900                                                                                |
| Himachal Pradesh        | 28000                                                                               | Tamil Nadu              | 115900                                                                              |
| Jammu & Kashmir         | 12200                                                                               | Telangana               | 93500                                                                               |
| Jharkhand               | 5700                                                                                | Tripura                 | 5000                                                                                |
| Karnataka               | 97200                                                                               | Uttar Pradesh           | 27300                                                                               |
| Kerala                  | 213600                                                                              | Uttarakhand             | 35600                                                                               |
| Madhya Pradesh          | 32100                                                                               | West Bengal             | 17800                                                                               |
| Maharashtra             | 54700                                                                               | Group of UTs            | 47700                                                                               |
| Manipur                 | 6100                                                                                | all-India               | 47000                                                                               |

- # For reliability, estimates are provided for States for which sample number of households in the survey was at least 300. Due to this reason, all the UTs  have  been  clubbed  and  shown  against  the  head  'Group  of  UTs'. However, 'all-India' figures include all the States and UTs.
*  Information on loan included all kinds of outstanding loans irrespective of the purpose for which loans were taken.

*****