Udaipur (Rajasthan): Debt waiver schemes of central and state governments have not benefited farmers as they restricted credit flow subsequently, Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Raghuram Rajan said Saturday.
"Studies have shown that debt waiver programmes have been ineffective, constraining credit flow to farmers after their loans were waived off," Rajan said at the 97th annual conference of the Indian Economic Association organised by the economics department of Mohanlal Sukhadia University in Udaipur, about 420 km from Jaipur.
Concerned over farmers' suicides, arising partly out of their inability to pay back loans, Rajan said there was a need to study the sensitive issue to find out if they were caused by indebtedness.
"It is worth examining to ascertain if farmers' suicides are caused by indebtedness in the farm sector or other factors," Rajan said.
He recalled that loan waivers were declared for farmers in Andhra Pradesh after cyclone Phailin made landfall in October 2013.
Banks had a combined exposure of Rs.1.3 lakh crore to the farm sector in both the neighbouring southern states.
Though the Telangana government, which came into being in June 2014, paid 25 percent of the waived amount to the affected banks, the Andhra Pradesh government has not remitted its due amount till date.
The first UPA government announced in early 2008 an agricultural debt waiver and debt relief scheme under which Rs.52,516 crore due from 369 lakh small and marginal and 60 lakh big farmers across the country were waived off.
The comptroller and auditor general, however, found out later that several ineligible farmers benefited from the central government's debt waiver scheme while many deserving farmers were left out.
Referring to subsidies in the agriculture sector, the central bank governor said it would be worth studying if they (subsidies) have actually helped farmers.
"The concern is if the benefit in the form of cheap credit to agriculture is being put to right use or leading to over indebtedness," Rajan added.
Comments
| Quick linksNews
National
International
Regional
Politics
Education & Career
Business
Science & Technology
Health
Views & Analysis
The Funny Side
© 2012 Awaz Multimedia & Publications. All rights reserved.
Raj Bhavan sources told IANS that Vohra had written separate letters to the Peoples Democratic Party and the Bharatiya Janata Party which have won 28 and 25 seats respectively in the 87-member assembly...... More
Also Read: BJP wants to rule Kashmir - with Hindu chief minister
Arab and Muslim world needs to invest in creating world-class universities, scientific research institutions, think tanks and media
The Arab and Muslim world needs to invest in creating world-class universities, scientific research institutions, think tanks and media. Isn't it strange that today not a single university or college ..... More
In 2006, the UPA government had announced a Rs.717 crore rehabilitation package for anti-Sikh riots victims after the Nanavati Commission, which was set up to probe the riots, submitted its report. In 2006, the UPA government had announced a Rs.717 crore rehabilitation package for anti ..... More
The Hindu nationalist have constantly dinned into our consciousness that Muslims are separatists, terrorists and communal. There is a suspicion that any political party led and dominated by Muslims would ultimately lead to a second partition of the country.... More
President of All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (MIM) and Hyderabad MP while participating in a discussion in the Lok Sabha on the issue of religious conversion urged the BJP government to stop those behind the 'ugly agenda' at the same time stating that the such programs would not scare the Muslims.. .... More
Also Read: Post 'conversion attempt', Agra Muslims are more staunch believers in Islam
Ever since the terror attack took place Dec 16 at a school in Peshawar where over 140 people, mostly children, were killed, hashtags like #PeshawarAttack and #IndiawithPakistan have been trending on Twitter, creating a bridge to connect citizens of the two neighbouring nations...... More
Also Read: Dilip Kumar grieves for hometown Peshawar