K'taka to urge Centre to provide farm loans at 6 pc

Bangalore, Mar 15 (UNI) Karnataka will seek farm loans at six per cent, instead of seven as announced by Union Finance Minister P Chidambaram in his Budget for the next fiscal, Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy said today.

In the event of the Centre remaining firm on seven per cent interest rate on farm loans extended by commercial banks, the state would provide a subsidy of one per cent to such loans, he told newspersons after releasing the Common Minimum Programme of the JD(S)-BJP coalition government here.

He said Mr Chidambaram, who was in Mangalore last weekend, had assured to convene a meeting of Chairman of commercial Banks shortly to provide farm loans at a subsidised rate of seven per cent.

Karnataka was the first State in the country to provide farm loans at a subsidised rate of six per cent to farmers, he said.

Referring to farmers suicides in the State, Mr Kumaraswamy said the government would take all steps to enable farmers mitigate their debt problems. He, however, did not elaborate on the steps, saying that the Budget to be presented by Deputy Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa on March 20 would address the issue in detail.

UNI VK RG YA BST 1410