Lok Sabha Question No. 157 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2015-07-21
Subject: Indebtedness of Farmers
Ministry: AGRICULTURE
Asked by: CHANDRAKANT RAGHUNATH PATIL

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

MINISTRY OF AGRICULTURE

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE & COOPERATION

**LOK  SABHA**

**UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.157**

TO BE ANSWERED ON THE  21 ST JULY, 2015

**INDEBTEDNESS OF FARMERS**

157. 	  SHRI C.R. PATIL:

Will the Minister of AGRICULTURE 	     कृषि मंत्री

be pleased  to state:

(a)	 whether the farmers in the country are still debt ridden;

(b)	 if so, the details thereof along with the details of debt ridden farmers during

the last three years and the current year, State/UT-wise;

(c) 	whether per farmer debt burden is higher than the average annual per capita

income in the country;

(d)	 if so, the details thereof along with the reasons for rise in the indebtedness of

farmers; and

(e)	 the steps taken/being taken up by the Government in this regard?

### 1 ANSWER

MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF AGRICULTURE

कृषि मंत्रालय में राज्य मंत्री  (SHRI MOHANBHAI KUNDARIA)

(a) & (b):  	 As per the National Sample Survey Office Report on Key Indicators of Situation of Agricultural Households in India- (NSS - 70 th Round (January 2013- December 2013), 52 percent of the agricultural households in the country were estimated to be indebted to either formal or informal or both sources of credit.  The average amount of outstanding loan per agricultural household was Rs.47,000 (approximate).  Details of average amount of outstanding loan per agricultural household in respect of States and Group of UTs are given in the Annexure.

(c) & (d):  	The details of average monthly income per farmer household during the agricultural year July 2012-June 2013 in respect of States and   Group of UTs as reported in the Situation Assessment Survey  conducted by National Sample Survey Office during January 2013-December 2013 are given in the Annexure.  Loan for the purpose of capital or current expenditure in farm business combined with successive crop failures and loan for meeting health, marriage and other social ceremonies related expenses have been identified as the major reasons for indebtedness of farmers in the country.

(e): 	Farmers are indebted to both institutional and non-institutional sources of credit.  However, borrowing from non-institutional sources is the major reasons for debt   related   farmers distress.    In  order to  reduce  the dependence of farmers on

Contd…2/-

-2-

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, includes 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**

**Lok Sabha Unstarred Question No. 157 for answer on 21.07.2015**

**Average Monthly Income and average amount of outstanding loan per Agricultural Household during the agricultural year July 2012-June 2013**

| State  #          | Estimated number of households having outstanding loan   | Average monthly income* per agricultural households during July 2012-June 2013  (in Rs.)   | Approximate average amount of outstanding loan** per agricultural household  (in Rs.)   |
|-------------------|----------------------------------------------------------|--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| (1)               | (2)                                                      | (3)                                                                                        | (4)                                                                                     |
| Andhra Pradesh    | 33421                                                    | 5979                                                                                       | 123400                                                                                  |
| Arunachal Pradesh | 206                                                      | 10869                                                                                      | 5400                                                                                    |
| Assam             | 5995                                                     | 6695                                                                                       | 3400                                                                                    |
| Bihar             | 30156                                                    | 3558                                                                                       | 16300                                                                                   |
| Chhattisgarh      | 9538                                                     | 5177                                                                                       | 10200                                                                                   |
| Gujarat           | 16743                                                    | 7926                                                                                       | 38100                                                                                   |
| Haryana           | 6645                                                     | 14434                                                                                      | 79000                                                                                   |
| Himachal Pradesh  | 2457                                                     | 8777                                                                                       | 28000                                                                                   |
| Jammu & Kashmir   | 3463                                                     | 12683                                                                                      | 12200                                                                                   |
| Jharkhand         | 6464                                                     | 4721                                                                                       | 5700                                                                                    |
| Karnataka         | 32775                                                    | 8832                                                                                       | 97200                                                                                   |
| Kerala            | 10908                                                    | 11888                                                                                      | 213600                                                                                  |
| Madhya Pradesh    | 27414                                                    | 6210                                                                                       | 32100                                                                                   |
| Maharashtra       | 40672                                                    | 7386                                                                                       | 54700                                                                                   |
| Manipur           | 421                                                      | 8842                                                                                       | 6100                                                                                    |
| Meghalaya         | 84                                                       | 11792                                                                                      | 1400                                                                                    |
| Mizoram           | 47                                                       | 9099                                                                                       | 2900                                                                                    |
| Nagaland          | 65                                                       | 10048                                                                                      | 600                                                                                     |
| Odisha            | 25830                                                    | 4976                                                                                       | 28200                                                                                   |
| Punjab            | 7499                                                     | 18059                                                                                      | 119500                                                                                  |
| Rajasthan         | 40055                                                    | 7350                                                                                       | 70500                                                                                   |
| Sikkim            | 97                                                       | 6798                                                                                       | 9900                                                                                    |
| Tamil Nadu        | 26780                                                    | 6980                                                                                       | 115900                                                                                  |
| Telangana         | 22628                                                    | 6311                                                                                       | 93500                                                                                   |
| Tripura           | 559                                                      | 5429                                                                                       | 5000                                                                                    |
| Uttarakhand       | 5387                                                     | 4701                                                                                       | 35600                                                                                   |
| Uttar Pradesh     | 79081                                                    | 4923                                                                                       | 27300                                                                                   |
| West Bengal       | 32787                                                    | 3980                                                                                       | 17800                                                                                   |
| Group of UTs      | 267                                                      | 8568                                                                                       | 47700                                                                                   |
| **all-India**     | **468481**                                               | **6426**                                                                                   | **47000**                                                                               |

*#Figures for remaining States are not published due to inadequate sample size (i.e. number of sample households less than 300).*

** The income includes income from salary/wages, net receipt from cultivation, net receipt from farming of animals and net receipt from non-farm business*

*** Outstanding loans as on date of survey irrespective of the purpose for which loans were taken*

*(Source:* ***Key Indicators of Situation of Agricultural Households in India*** *based on Situation Assessment Survey of Agricultural Households, NSS 70* *th* *round (January 2013-December 2013)*

********