TIRUCHY: Under the Electronic Negotiable Warehouse Receipts (ENWR) system of the National E-Repository Limited (NERL), a Perambalur-based trader on Friday received a bank loan to the tune of `1.63 crore - the highest amount sanctioned to a trader by the NERL in the country - after he pledged 700 metric tonnes of maize stored at the regulated market in Thathaiyankarpettai in Tiruchy, on Friday.
The loan was sanctioned to T Ramaraj of Perambalur by Rajeshverma, the Regional Head of the Central Bank of India and Tharika, the branch manager. The NERL was formed in 2017. Tiruchy Market Committee Secretary R Suresh Babu told TNIE, "Since we are accredited to the Warehousing Development and Regulatory Authority, we have had been issuing warehouse receipts to farmers and traders who store their goods at the godown of the regulated market.
With this, they can avail of up to 75% bank loan with an interest of 8.25%. This helps traders to enlist in the national level commodity exchange market, where buyers quote prices across the nation benefiting the local traders. It encourages farmers to pursue agriculture-related business and farmers facing fund crunch could be safeguarded through it." Kishore P, the Business Development Officer of the NERL told TNIE, "We have been upgrading ourselves to the ENWR system through which e-receipts could be issued.
This would make it easier for banks to process the transactions. The ENWR system also lets farmers digitally conduct business with traders. They could conduct trade through online platforms too." "The NERL was formed in 2017 and we have been working along with the agriculture department from this year. By far, T Ramaraj is the only trader to have received a loan amount over Rs 1 crore," Kishore added.
T Ramaraj told TNIE, "The new loan system enables traders like me to store more goods. However, the markets keep fluctuating. So the e-receipt and online trading system is beneficial only when the market is stable."