Loan quantum to be fixed after Reserve Bank of India letter

Hyderabad: The quantum of loan to be rescheduled for Andhra Pradesh farmers will be decided after get a letter from RBI. “The RBI Governor will write to the AP government in a day or two in which the apex bank will spell out the modalities of rescheduling the crop loans.

Only after receiving the RBI letter will we be able to say how much loan waiver and how many farmers, women’s groups and those who took loans by mortgaging gold will benefit. But all the mandals, those hit by drought and cyclone and those not affected, would be extended with the loan waiver benefit,” said agriculture minister P. Pulla Rao and finance minister Yanamala Ramakrishnudu on Tuesday.

It may be mentioned that the farm loan arrears in AP amounted to a staggering Rs 87,000 crore. The RBI will spell out whether the loans would be rescheduled for five years or seven years. On its part, AP government has sought rescheduling of loans for seven years with a one-year moratorium. The rescheduling of loans will give much needed time to Mr Naidu to raise revenues and pay back the banks.

Agriculture minister P. Pulla Rao, meanwhile, said that the rains had reached most parts of AP. “About 60 per cent of the AP state has been covered by rains. Meteorological department officials have predicted that the remaining parts of the state would be covered by rains in the next 48 years,”he said.

The agriculture action plan includes reducing the input cost to make agriculture a profitable sector for farmers. “If required, AP government will spend '400 crore to conduct soil tests, reduce use of urea and take measures to increase the yield by supplying zinc and high-productivity seeds to the farmers,” said the minister.