Question : INDEBTED FARMERS IN THE COUNTRY

(a) whether the Government has made any study to assess the total number of farmers in the country and the number of indebted farmers out of them;

(b) if so, the details thereof, State-wise;

(c) whether any steps are under consideration to rescue these indebted farmers of the country; and

(d) if so, the details thereof?

Answer given by the minister

MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF AGRICULTURE AND MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF CONSUMER AFFAIRS, FOOD & PUBLIC DISTRIBUTION(DR. AKHILESH PRASAD SINGH)

(a): Yes, Sir. National Sample Survey Organization (NSSO) in its survey report on `Indebtedness of Farmer Households` released in the month of May, 2005 has estimated the total number of farmer households in the country and the number of indebted farmer households out of them.

(b): Details are at Annexure- I.

(c) & (d): Details are at Annexure- II.

Annexure-I

Estimated number of rural households, and total and indebted farmer Households in each State

State	Estimated number	Estimated number of	Estimated number	Percentage of	of rural house	farmers house	of indebted	farmer house	holds(00)	holds (00)	farmer households	holds indebted	(00)



(1)	(2)	(3)	(4)	(5)
Andhra Pr.	142512	60339	49493	82.0
Arunachal Pr.	15412	1227	72	5.9
Assam	41525	25040	4536	18.1
Bihar	116853	70804	23383	33.0
Chattisgarh	36316	27598	11092	40.2
Gujarat	63015	37845	19644	51.9
Haryana	31474	19445	10330	53.1
Himachal Pr.	11928	9061	3030	33.4
Jammu & Kashmir	10418	9432	3003	31.8
Jharkhand	36930	28238	5893	20.9
Karnataka	69908	40413	24897	61.6
Kerala	49942	21946	14126	64.4
Madhya Pradesh	93898	63206	32110	50.8
Maharashtra	118177	65817	36098	54.8
Manipur	2685	2146	533	24.8
Meghalaya	3401	2543	103	4.1
Mizoram	942	780	184	23.6
Nagaland	973	805	294	36.5
Orissa	66199	42341	20250	47.8
Punjab	29847	18442	12069	65.4
Rajasthan	70172	53080	27828	52.4
Sikkim	812	531	174	38.8
Tamil Nadu	110182	38880	28954	74.5
Tripura	5977	2333	1148	49.2
Uttar Pradesh	2214199	171575	69199	40.3
Uttaranchal	11959	8962	644	7.2
West Bengal	121667	69226	34696	50.1
Group of UTs	2325	732	372	50.8
All India	1478988	893504	434242	48.6

Annexure - II

1. To rescue the indebted farmers of the country, Government has advised the banks as under:

i. To increase credit flow to agriculture sector at the rate of 30% per year.

ii. Debt restructuring under the following heads in accordance with the guidelines issued by Reserve bank of India (RBI)/ National Bank for Agriculture & Rural Development (NABARD):

? Farmers in distress â€“ Rescheduling/restructuring of the outstanding loan of the farmer as on 31st March, 2004 in the districts declared as calamity-affected by the State Government. Rescheduled loan shall be repayable over a period of five years, at current interest rates, including an initial moratorium of two years.

? Farmers in arrears â€“ Loans in default of farmers who have become ineligible for fresh credit as their earlier debts have been categorized as sub-standard or doubtful shall be rescheduled as per the guidelines so that such farmers become eligible for fresh credit.

On restructuring as above, the farmers will become eligible for fresh loans.

iii. Banks have been advised to grant a one-time settlement (OTS) including partial waiver of interest or loan to the small and marginal farmers who have been declared as defaulters and have become ineligible for fresh credit. Banks have also been advised to review cases where credit has been denied on the sole ground that a loan account was settled through compromise or write offs.

iv. In some parts of the country, farmers face acute distress because of the heavy burden of debt from non-institutional lenders (e.g., moneylenders). Banks have been permitted to advance loans to such farmers to provide them relief from indebtedness.

v. The banks have been advised to waive margin/ security requirements for agricultural loans up to Rs. 50,000 and agri-business and agri-clinics up to Rs. 5 lakh.

Question : INDEBTED FARMERS IN THE COUNTRY

Answer given by the minister

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