With the aim of boosting the state’s agriculture sector and increasing the income of farmers, the state government has announced a massive loan scheme for the current Kharif season. This time, a total of Rs 11,500 crore has been targeted to be disbursed to farmers through cooperative banks during the Kharif season. According to the new rules, the interest rate will be zero (0%) for farmers taking crop loans up to Rs 1 lakh through cooperative banks, PACS and other banks. Similarly, the interest rate for farmers taking loans between Rs 1 lakh and 3 lakh will be only 2%, if they repay the loan within the stipulated time.
The government has clarified that now all short-term agricultural loans through PACS will be disbursed only online. PACS which have not adopted the online system will not get refinance facilities for Kharif-2026. The loan amount will go directly to the farmer’s savings bank account. For which Aadhaar linking with the farmer’s bank account has been made mandatory.
To strengthen the agricultural infrastructure of the state, more credit has been given to sharecroppers, landless farmers and verbal lease holders through the Balaram Yojana. PAXs have been directed to provide at least 10% of their total credit to these categories of farmers. In addition, PAXs have also been directed to maintain the required balance in advance for uninterrupted supply of fertilizers and seeds during the Kharif season. Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY) will continue in the current Kharif season as well. Although this insurance is voluntary for the farmers, the government has directed the officials to encourage all farmers to enroll in it for security reasons. Regarding the loan tenure, he said that there is a specific period of 12 months for Kharif and Rabi crops, which can be extended to 18 months for long-term crops. All the district collectors of the state have been directed to convene district-level coordination committees to make this process convenient and timely.
