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According to a study conducted by State Bank of India (SBI) researchers, in nine states where agricultural loan waivers were announced since 2014, only half of those who sought loan waivers got the benefit.
Agricultural loan waivers that relieve the debt burden of farmers in the countryLoan Waiver Scheme) plan has been in much discussion. most of Farmers(Farmers) are claimed to have benefited from the loan waiver scheme. But, a recent report has surfaced about this scheme, raising questions on its success. Because according to this report, only 50 percent of the country’s farmers have benefited from the agricultural loan waiver scheme. According to a study conducted by State Bank of India researchers, in the nine states where agricultural loan waivers were announced since 2014, only half of those seeking loan waivers got the benefit.
According to the report, Agricultural loan waiver Among the worst performing states in the scheme are Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Punjab, Karnataka and Telangana. Telangana (5 percent), Madhya Pradesh 12 percent, Punjab 24 percent, Jharkhand 13 percent, Punjab 24 percent, Uttar Pradesh 52 percent and Karnataka 38 percent have benefited from this scheme. While 100 percent eligible farmers in Chhattisgarh in 2018 and 91 percent eligible farmers in Maharashtra in 2020 got the benefit of loan waiver scheme.
50 percent farmers have benefited from loan waiver
Under the loan waiver scheme, 92 percent of the 42 lakh farmers in Andhra Pradesh were eligible for the benefit. While in Telangana this number was five percent. The SBI report said that from 2014 to 2022, only 50 percent of the 3.7 crore eligible farmers have benefited from loan waiver. The report said that the benefits of the loan waiver scheme, which was targeted at farmers, did not reach the farmers. Along with this, the report has also expressed concern that whether the farmers really benefit from this in times of economic crisis?
Because most of the accounts eligible for loan waiver were of standard category. This raises the question of whether the loan waiver was really necessary. Standard accounts are those accounts in which the borrower repays his loan on time. While such accounts were also covered under the Agricultural Loan Waiver Scheme. The number of such accounts was particularly high in Jharkhand (100%), Uttar Pradesh (96%), Andhra Pradesh (95%), Punjab (86%) and Telangana (84%).
Real farmers got money or not
According to a media report, SBI researchers have said that Rs 34,000 crore was announced to provide loan waiver benefits to farmers in Maharashtra. This scheme was implemented in 2014 in 9 states of the country under loan waiver scheme. The research tried to find out whether the actual farmers received Rs 2.25 lakh crore or not.
Interest of farmers may be damaged
The report concludes that the culture of loan waiver may harm the interests of farmers in the future. It also has implications for farmers and building infrastructure for agriculture, as the financial burden on governments can strain institutions.
Let us tell you that many farmer organizations are also demanding debt waiver instead of loan waiver. Due to corrupt officials, most of the agricultural schemes do not reach the farmers. If all the farmers start benefiting from the schemes, if they get a fair price for their crops, there will be no need for loan waivers.