BackFarm credit to touch Rs120,000 cr during Apr-Oct
Farm credit to touch Rs120,000 cr during Apr-Oct
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New Delhi: Banks are estimated to have provided farm loans worth Rs25,000 crore in October, which would take the agricultural credit disbursal to Rs120,000 crore during April-October.
Credit worth Rs95,064 crore was provided to the agriculture sector in the first half of this fiscal, which is 32% less than the target of Rs140,000 crore.
“As per the earlier estimate, the farm credit was Rs105,000 crore during April-October. But with more information coming in later, the government is soon going to revise the figure upwards," a senior official said.
The agriculture credit would touch Rs120,000 crore till October, he added.
The banks are targeted to provide loans worth Rs280,000 crore to farmers in the entire 2008-09 fiscal.
Asked about credit flow to farmers during November, he said it would take more time as there are practical difficulties in collecting data from each and every bank.
According to the mid-year review of the economy, farm loans from commercial banks stood at Rs64,988.65 crore, while cooperative banks lent Rs19,442.33 crore in the first six months of the current fiscal. Regional rural banks provided farm credit worth Rs10,633.18 crore.
During the entire 2008-09 fiscal, commercial banks need to disburse Rs195,000 crore, cooperative banks are projected to extend such loans worth Rs55,000 crore and regional rural banks would provide loans amounting to Rs30,000 crore.
The banks had provided loans amounting to Rs2,43,569 crore in 2007-08, Rs229,399 crore in 2006-07 and Rs180,485 crore in 2005-06, respectively.
The review also said loans worth Rs284,312 crore was disbursed through Kisan Credit cards, the number of which so far crossed 7.57 crore since it was introduced in August 1998.
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