The Narendra Modi government will provide an additional Rs 30000 cr Emergency Working Capital Fund to farmers through the National Bank of Agricultural and Rural Development (NABARD), Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced on Thursday in a press conference. This is over and above Rs 90000 cr to be provided by NABARD through the normal refinance route for this year, Sitharaman said.

 

The facility will be front-loaded on tap facility to 33 state cooperative banks, 351 district cooperative banks and 43 Regional Rural Banks (RRB). This is likley to help over 3 cr farmers - mostly small and marginal, she said. The finance minister today said that the NABARD has already provided refinancing worth Rs 29500 cr to Regional Cooperative Banks and Regional Rural Banks in March 2020 alone.

 

The FM also said that 63 lakh loans worth Rs 86600 cr were approved in agriculture sector between 1 March 2020 and 30 April 2020 as liquidity support measures.