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Nirmala Sitharaman announces Rs 30,000 crore funds for small farmers
NABAD will extend additional refinance support of Rs 30,00 crore for crop loan requirement of rural cooperative banks and regional rural banks RRBs).
Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Thursday announced a Rs 30,000 crore additional emergency working capital funding to benefit farmers amid the Covid-19 lockdown.
“Rs 30,000 crore additional emergency working capital fund to be provided through NABARD to three crore small, marginal farmers,” Sitharaman said at the said in an address to the media on the government’s Rs 20 lakh crore economic package.
NABAD will extend additional refinance support of Rs 30,00 crore for crop loan requirement of rural cooperative banks and regional rural banks RRBs).
The scheme is front-loaded with on-tap facility to 33 state cooperative banks, 351 district cooperative banks and 43 RRBs available on tap based on their lending.
The scheme is designed to meet post harvest (rabi) and current kharif requirement in May/June will benefit around three crore small and marginal farmers.
Sitharaman also announced Rs 2 lakh crore concessional credit boost to 2.5 crore farmers through Kisan Credit Cards.
In her press conference on Wednesday where she focused largely on MSMEs, Sithraman had said the economic package was intended to show the government was responsive to the needs of the people.
