Odisha announces interest-free ₹1 lakh crop loans for farmers

Odisha chief secretary PK Jena said availability of adequate and hassle free credit at a cheaper rates to farmers was a top priority of the state government

Updated on: Jul 21, 2023, 21:25:49 IST

By Debabrata Mohanty

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BHUBANESWAR: The Naveen Patnaik government on Friday announced interest-free crop loans of up to ₹1 lakh for farmers and loans of ₹1-3 lakh at 2% interest who have repaid previous loans, a top government official announced after a meeting of the state cabinet.

Odisha chief minister Naveen Patnaik (PTI)

Officials said interest-free crop loans were earlier capped at Rs. 50,000 under a cash assistance scheme that was started in January 2019.

Chief secretary PK Jena said availability of adequate and hassle free credit at a cheaper rates to farmers was a top priority of the state government. “Most farmers in the state belong to the small and marginal category with the small and marginal land holdings. These farmers do not have the required capital resources for their agricultural operations for which they need to avail hassle free crop loans from financial institutions,” he said.

The government approved ₹5,700 crore to enable banks to finance the interest subsidy for five years from 2023-24 to 2027-28 and ensure adequate credit flow at an affordable rate to farmers in the state. “At present, cooperative societies provide about 55% of the total crop loans dispensed to farmers in the state as against the national average of 17%. The cooperatives gave loans of Rs. 16683.57 crore to 34.57 lakh farmers in the state in 2022-23.

In May this year, the Odisha government announced free crop insurance to all farmers in the state for the next three years, making it the first state in the country in providing free crop insurance to farmers.

Odisha is predominantly an agrarian economy with agriculture and allied activities accounting for 22.5% in Gross State Value Added as per the Odisha Economic Survey 2022-23. The agriculture and allied sector is the largest single employment sector of the state and holds the key to socioeconomic development in the state.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Debabrata Mohanty
Debabrata Mohanty is a senior assistant editor of Hindustan Times who works as state correspondent from Odisha covering the state's politics, governance, public policy, natural disasters, environment and its society for close to three decades. With his long years of reporting from the state capital of Bhubaneswar, Mohanty has been known as one of the most experienced and credible journalists covering Odisha for the national English dailies. His reporting combines on-ground detail with deep institutional knowledge detailing the state's changing politics, governance issues, administrative reforms and the functioning of its public institutions. He has regularly reported on issues ranging from legislative developments and public policy implementation. Politics is his core areas of expertise as he closely tracks Odisha's political landscape, including the rise and transformation of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the Biju Janata Dal (BJD), the two principal political parties in Odisha. His long association with the state's political establishment enables him to write on contemporary developments in a larger political context. Mohanty takes a deep interest in writing human interest stories, environmental issues and documenting the impact of cyclones, floods, heatwaves, and other climate-related events in one of the most disaster-prone states. His coverage extends to public health, governance reforms and stories on accountability of government institutions. Before joining Hindustan Times, Mohanty worked with The Indian Express, Mail Today, and The Telegraph, where he covered at least six general elections and as many assembly elections. In 2007, he was selected for the prestigious Chevening Young Indian Print Journalist Programme at the University of Lincoln, United Kingdom, where he received advanced training in print journalism. In 2009 he won the Press Institute of India-International Committee of Red Cross award on conflict reporting for his on-ground reportage of 2008 Kandhamal riots.Read More

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