Centre won’t direct RBI on loan waiver
Finance minster suggested that state government should directly deposit money in farmer accounts
By : DC Correspondent
Update: 2014-08-28 01:57 GMT
Hyderabad: The Centre has expressed its helplessness in directing the Reserve Bank of India to reschedule crop loans despite Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu’s efforts. RBI has recently given the nod for rescheduling of loans in four districts up to a limit of Rs1 lakh, excluding gold loans. Union finance minister Arun Jaitley on Tuesday suggested that the state government should directly deposit the money into the accounts of farmers instead of asking the RBI to direct the banks.
A senior government official said, “The Centre has suggested that the government can directly deposit the money into the accounts of the farmers or issue bonds to farmers instead of asking the RBI. We were told that RBI governor Raghuram Rajan is in no mood to change the stand on loan rescheduling.”
AP agricultural minister P. Pulla Rao said, “We have lost hopes with RBI, but are still trying. At least 43 lakh farmers will benefit from farm loan waiver. Of Rs2,200 crore loans issued by the state co-operative banks, Rs1,000 crore are fresh loans taken keeping loan waiver in mind and most are benaami loans.”
Mr Rao said the fresh loans taken from January 1 to March 21,2014 will not be waived off. “Only those repaid or renewed in this period will be waived. For fresh loans the cutoff date was December 3, 2013,” he said adding that the government will consider ration card and voter card of farmers without Aadhaar card.