The Hindu : New Delhi News : Interest on crop loans reduced

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Jul 06, 2004

New Delhi

New Delhi

Interest on crop loans reduced

By Our Staff Correspondent

CHANDIGARH, JULY 5. The Punjab Government has decided to reduce the rate of interest in the Punjab State Co-operative Banks on crop loans to 11 per cent keeping in view the difficulties faced by farmers in the State.

Disclosing this here today in an official statement, the State Co-operation Minister, Lal Singh, said that this reduction in the rate of interest would provide an annual relief of Rs. 45 crore to nearly 7.5 lakh farmers. He informed that when the present Government took over this rate of interest had been 14 per cent. He further informed that the rate of interest on Revolving Cash Credit Limits sanctioned to farmers had also been reduced to 12 per cent, providing an additional relief of Rs. Five crore to nearly 1.03 lakh farmers. The reduced rates of interest had become effective from July 1, 2004, the statement added.

A total of 103417 farmers had been sanctioned Revolving Cash Credit Limits worth Rs 1013.53 crore for meeting their financial requirements other than agricultural. Sehkari Bank Yojna had also become very popular amongst depositors of the Co-operative Banks where as many as 283146 depositors had been covered under this Scheme and each depositor was insured for up to Rs. 1 lakh in case of any accident. During the previous year, the legal heirs of 136 such depositors had been provided a relief of Rs. 129.50 lakh by the Co-operative Banks in the State.

The Punjab State Co-operative Bank Limited has been arranging crop loans to farmers through a network of 824 branches of 19 Central Co-operative Banks and nearly 4000 Primary Agricultural Co-operative Service Societies in the State. The Co-operative Banks advanced Rs. 2960.82 crore as crop loans during the year 2003-04. During the current year the target for such loans amounting to Rs. 3300 crore has been fixed.

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