The finance ministry has called a meeting of the State-Level Bankers Committee in New Delhi on Tuesday, which will be attended by officials from scheduled commercial banks, regional rural banks, cooperatives, Reserve Bank of India, National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development, the Centre as well as states. The meeting will be presided over by financial services department secretary Arun Ramanathan.
In his address at a conference of state secretaries, Rajan stressed the need to strengthen state-level coordination committees by ensuring participation, conducting meetings more frequently and sharing quality information among all stakeholders, including state government agencies.
The Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM) has ended its protest at the Chandigarh-Mohali border after receiving written assurances from the Punjab government. The government has pledged to convene a state Assembly session within a month to address issues concerning river waters, agriculture, and farmer loans, including resolutions against old water agreements and certain central bills.
The much awaited implementation of the over Rs 71,000 crore (Rs 710 billion) farm debt waiver and relief scheme got underway on Thursday with public sector banks, regional rural banks and cooperatives displaying names of the beneficiaries at branches.
RRBs, which cater to the rural sector, are sponsored by major public sector banks, and Centre and State governments also hold stake in them. Earlier, the bankers told Chidambaram that they were facing liquidity crunch due to delay in the relief package, and were unable to provide credit to farmers.
The amount of debt waiver and debt relief to the farmers has exceeded by over Rs 6,569 crore (Rs 65.69 billion) against the original estimates of February this year, Lok Sabha was informed on Friday.
Farmers under the Samyukta Kisan Morcha have initiated a week-long protest at the Chandigarh-Mohali border, demanding a minimum support price (MSP) based on the C2 plus 50 per cent formula, debt waivers, and opposing the proposed India-US trade deal, Electricity Amendment Bill, and Seed Bill. They also raised concerns about water depletion and sought resolutions based on riparian principles.
The UPA government had last year announced a nearly Rs 71,000 crore (Rs 710 billion) farm loan waiver scheme to offer relief to farmers, especially the small and medium ones who were unable to access fresh loans due to non-payment of dues. Noting that the full impact of failure of monsoon was yet to be assessed, the minister said the country would, however, be able to achieve six per cent plus economic growth during the current fiscal.
No irregularities in farm debt waiver scheme: Pawar
PM assures all help to Mamata but non-committal on debt waiver.
Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi criticised Prime Minister Narendra Modi, stating he needs to change his "dil ka angle" (heart's perspective) rather than camera angles to connect with Gen Z, following his Instagram outreach to student protesters. She also condemned the government's handling of student protests and the widespread issue of paper leaks.
TVK founder Vijay, upon becoming Chief Minister, approved free electricity units and special forces for women's safety and anti-drug efforts. He pledged a commitment to secularism and social justice, asserting his authority as the sole power centre.
Not a single retail outlet ran dry. Every household that wanted a cylinder got one. India faced neither a 1991 moment nor a 2013 one. Macroeconomic stability held. This was not an accident, and it was not luck alone. It was the work of a government that chose to act as it had during the pandemic -- deliberately and gradually, building one measure upon another rather than reaching for a single dramatic lever, explains V Anantha Nageswaran, chief economic advisor to the Government of India.
The government on Friday hiked the debt waiver and relief for small and marginal farmers from Rs 60,000 crore (Rs 600 billion) to Rs 71,680 crore (Rs 718.80 billion).
If TVK MLAs and ministers are perceived as clean, or demonstrably cleaner than their predecessors, the credibility dividend will be enormous. The voter will feel rewarded, points out Ramesh Menon.
Public sector bank chiefs will have a lot to discuss when they meet Finance Minister P Chidambaram on May 1 to get a broad direction from the government, the majority shareholder in 28 PSBs, for the strategy they should adopt in 2008-09. High on the agenda will be a discussion on implementation of the Rs 60,314-crore.
Anti-corruption activist Anna Hazare on Sunday claimed to have sufficient proofs of alleged irregularities committed in the farmers' loan waiver scheme of the Centre which was brought out by a Comptroller and Auditor General report recently.
Among the states due for election next year are AP, Haryana and Odisha, which have a fair share of agri credit. If these states individually announced debt relief, the combined waiver would be at least around Rs 600 bn to Rs 700 bn. Clearly, this will be a frightening challenge for Indian banks.
India has managed high government debt-to-GDP, a slowing domestic revenue engine, lower household savings and a more hostile geopolitical environment separately in the past. But together, they threaten to undo the growth narrative on which today's optimism rests, warns Debashis Basu.
AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami has announced a series of welfare measures, including free refrigerators for rice ration cardholders, if the party wins the 2026 Assembly election in Tamil Nadu.
State debt is rising because revenues are disappointingly weak. Ten states have debt ratios exceeding 30 per cent. In 2023-2024, states were borrowing simply to meet day-to-day expenses, points out Debashis Basu.
Past experience shows loan waivers benefited only 30% of India's farmers; here again, the richer cultivator skimmed the cream, leaving very little for his poorer brethren.
The government has assured that all suggestions such as raising the land ceiling limit for the waiver will be considered. The loan waiver scheme would also cover all agricultural loans disbursed by private scheduled commercial banks as well. Congress MP Mohsina Kidwai wanted to know whether the government would raise the land ceiling for the waiver to farmers from the existing limit and whether it would come out with a package for the farmers to pay off money lender loans.
'Our politics is transparent -- it's about ensuring farmers don't die by suicide, about ensuring agriculture remains viable, about ensuring food security for the nation.' 'If that's politics, then yes, we do politics.'
Finance Minister P Chidambaram on Tuesday told Parliament that the farm debt waiver and relief scheme has benefited 36.4 million farmers and taken care of their Rs 66,477 crore (Rs 664.77 billion) debt burden.
The Bharatiya Janata Party on Friday termed as "hoax" the government's Rs 60,000 crore (Rs 600 billion) farm loan waiver package, saying the move was just to make political capital as in effect it will put the major burden on future governments.
Public sector banks have written off loans worth Rs 6.15 lakh crore in the last five and a half years, Parliament was informed on Monday.
It asks banks to take immediate action against officials responsible for lapses.
Uttar Pradesh and Punjab have announced loan waivers for farmers, while Maharashtra has not despite Opposition pressure. Sanjeeb Mukherjee reports.
The Opposition in Maharashtra boycotted the government's customary tea party on the eve of the Winter session, citing its failure to appoint leaders of the opposition (LoPs) in both houses of the state legislature.
Farmers mounted their protest demanding a financial package for losses caused by the recent floods, a legal guarantee to minimum support price, and a sweeping debt waiver.
What's worrying for the public sector banks is the rise in delinquency in the housing portfolio, which does not include real estate. But a bank chief said that with low exposure to the real estate sector, the state-run banks have fewer worries. The other area of concern is credit cards but the operations of public sector banks in this segment are small compared with the likes of ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank and Citibank, the largest players in the business.
Younger customers should opt for increasing cover as their financial commitments are likely to rise in the future.
'Do exhaustive research and then select the one that best fits your budget and requirements.'
Farmers on Saturday evening ended their three-day 'rail roko' stir that hit the movement of trains, causing inconvenience to passengers in Punjab and Haryana.
Report says ineligible farmers given benefits.
Public sector banks (PSBs) have written off bad loans of about Rs 5.82 lakh crore in the last five financial years, Parliament was informed on Tuesday. During 2024-25, the loan write-off of PSBs was at Rs 91,260 crore, compared to Rs 1.15 lakh crore in the previous fiscal, Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary said in a written reply to the Rajya Sabha.
The opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi on Sunday released its manifesto for the Maharashtra assembly polls, promising free cervical cancer vaccines for girls aged 9 to 16 and and two optional leave days for women employees during menstruation.
The Union ministers and farmer leaders had met earlier on February 8, 12 and 15 but the talks remained inconclusive.
'The BJP leadership and its agriculture minister must make up their mind on what kind of corrective measures will be needed for Indian agriculture at this point in time.' 'The sooner Mr Singh provides policy clarity on this vital issue, the better are the chances of India's agriculture and farmers emerging out of their current mess,' says A K Bhattacharya.
