Chandigarh, May 31: As the Punjab Govt works out the modalities of a farm debt waiver scheme, Punjab farmers have not only stopped repaying their loans but have also become ineligible for fresh ones.
The repayment of loans availed for wheat crop, to be done between April and May, is down by 50 per cent. As a result, 50 per cent of farmers, who have defaulted on their repayment, are ineligible for fresh loans for paddy.
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Till March, the recovery of loan by banks (for 2016 paddy) was down by just 10 per cent — from 87.88 per cent in March 2016 to 77.12 per cent in March this year. Even the annual target for the credit offtake to the agriculture sector, remains the same as last year. The poor credit offtake could also mean more reliance of farmers on “arhtiyas”.
News Source: http://www.tribuneindia.com
