Agri farmers have to link Aadhaar with bank a/c for crop loans in 2017-18

To ensure hassle-free benefits to farmers under Interest Subvention Scheme, the Reserve Bank of India has advised banks to make Aadhaar linkage mandatory for availing short-term crop loans up to ₹3 lakh in 2017-18.

This move is in line with the government’s increasing emphasis on linking Aadhaar to various transactions in the economy including filing Income-Tax returns and getting direct benefit transfer.

In order to provide short-term crop loans to farmers at an interest rate of 7 per cent (the same as in the previous year) during the year 2017-18, the RBI said it has been decided to offer interest subvention of 2 per cent to lending institutions -- public sector banks, private sector commercial banks (in respect of loans given by their rural and semi-urban branches only) on use of their own resources.

This interest subvention of 2 per cent will be calculated on the crop loan amount from the date of its disbursement/ drawal up to the date of actual repayment of the crop loan by the farmer or up to the due date of the loan fixed by the banks whichever is earlier, subject to a maximum period of one year.

Further, farmers repaying in time will be provided an additional interest subvention of 3 per cent. What this means is that farmers paying promptly would get short term crop loans (for a maximum period of one year) at 4 per cent during the year 2017-18.

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