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Tamil Nadu CM C Joseph Vijay announces full waiver of co-op farm loans upto ₹75,000
Vijay added that despite financial constrains, his government decided to extend additional support of ₹953.06 crore to farmers.
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay on Monday announced a full waiver of cooperative crop loans of up to ₹75,000 availed by farmers.
The additional crop loan waiver will cost the state exchequer ₹953.06 crore and benefit around 13.34 lakh farmers in the state, he said in the Assembly.
The additional waiver of cooperative loans follows a similar announcement made by the state government on May 25 to completely waive crop loans of up to ₹50,000 availed by marginal, small and other farmers, aimed at reducing their financial burden.
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Making a suo motu statement in the Assembly, Vijay said, “If the people of Tamil Nadu are our life, the farmers are our lifeline. If there is a profession in the world that transcends all distinctions of caste, religion, race and language, it is agriculture alone.”
"Only in a nation that respects agriculture and accords proper protection and support to farmers can the people live with prosperity and happiness. Although the Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam government assumed office amid severe financial constraints, orders were issued on May 25 within 15 days of assuming office to completely waive crop loans up to ₹50,000 availed by marginal, small and other farmers to lighten their debt burden," the chief minister said in his address.
Considering the representations of the farmers' associations across the state and keeping in mind the necessity to safeguard farmers' welfare even during financial constraints, an order was issued on June 19 revising the scheme, he said.
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"Under this, full loan waiver was announced for those who had borrowed up to ₹75,000 and a waiver of ₹35,000 for those who had borrowed above ₹75,000 thereby waiving cooperative crop loans to the tune of ₹5,932.23 crore benefitting 14.44 lakh farmers," he said.
Out of this, ₹5,267 crore was released up to July 31, 2026 and credited to the accounts of 13.34 lakh farmers, he noted.
Vijay said, during a consultative meeting held on August 7 with the farmers' associations, senior ministers and departmental secretaries, their demands were examined in detail.
Although crop loans were waived in the past, amounts payable by the government to cooperative banks were remitted over a time gap of 4 -5 years, he said.
The amount of crop loans waived in 2021 was remitted by the government to cooperative banks in 12 instalments between 2021 and 2026, he said.
As per the guidelines of the operational procedure for government loan waiver schemes issued by the Reserve Bank of India on November 28, 2025, the full amount of crop loan waiver must be remitted completely by the government to cooperative banks within 45 to 60 days, he said.
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The chief minister said in accordance with the guidelines and taking into account the financial condition and financial resources of the Tamil Nadu government, the government has decided to provide the following additional waivers for crop loans disbursed through cooperative banks even during the challenging situation.
Accordingly, Vijay said cooperative crop loans up to ₹75,000 are waived and there would be maximum waiver of ₹75,000 for crop loans between ₹75,000 and ₹1 lakh.
Maximum waiver up to ₹35,000 for crop loans exceeding ₹1 lakh, he said.
As a result of this initiative, Vijay said, "2,38,264 farmers who have taken crop loans between ₹75,000 and ₹1 lakh will receive a waiver of up to ₹75,000 each. This will enable them to get an additional waiver of up to ₹40,000 over and above the waiver amount already received."
Vijay added the additional crop loan waiver would create an extra financial burden of approximately ₹953.06 crore on the government.
Considering that the government's welfare lies in the welfare of farmers, this government provides a total crop loan waiver of ₹6,220 crore benefitting around 13.34 lakh farmers, he said.
Meanwhile, a farmers association while welcoming the announcement said the move would benefit about 6 lakh farmers of the total 13 lakh farmers. "Nearly 50 per cent of the farmers are marginal and small farmers."
"This announcement will meet the expectations of smaller and marginal farmers. We want the government to announce full waiver of crop loans to all the farmers. The government has announced a slab and based on that they are waiving off the loans. For example if a farmer has a loan amount of ₹1 lakh, only up to ₹75,000 can be waived. But, this will benefit only 50 per cent of the farmers," a member of Tamil Nadu Vivasayigal Sangam (Farmers' Association), told HT.
He demanded that the government completely waive the entire crop loans as announced in their party manifesto.
As part of its poll promise, the ruling Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam had announced that cooperative crop loans would be fully waived for farmers owning up to 5 acre of land, while those owning more than 5 acre would receive a 50 per cent waiver.
