CHENNAI: Cooperation Minister Sellur K Raju on Thursday announced that the one-time loan settlement scheme for non-farm loans availed by farmers will be extended till September end. RuPay Kisan Cards will be issued to farmers from May, he said at a review of his department’s functioning.
The one-time settlement scheme for non-farm loans obtained through 180 cooperative primary agricultural banks and rural development banks, launched by the late Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa in 2014, will be extended till September 30. This scheme ended on March 31.
The scheme was announced to benefit 5,453 loanees. So far, 2,425 farmers have repaid Rs 52.21 crore loans and benefited by a waiver of Rs 10.29 crore interest. The government has now provided another opportunity till September 30.
The Centre has advised the State governments to issue RuPay Kisan Cards to farmers to encourage cashless transactions.