FM fails to give beneficiaries from short-term loans

New Delhi, Nov 28: Finance Minister P Chidambaram today failed to give the exact figure of farmers benefitting from short-term credits and instead informed the Rajya Sabha that the exact number of such beneficiaries from commercial banks, rural regional banks (RRBs) and cooperative institutions will be known by the end of the year.

Mr Chidambaram said the number of farmers benefitting from these loans during the Kharif season would be known by December 2006 and for Rabi during May-June next year.

He said that short-terms loans to farmers were being provided at the rate of seven per cent and till September 30, a sum of Rs 94,345 crore had been disbursed since the implementation of the scheme for doubling of credit to farmers within three years.

The minister said the target of distributing loans upto 1.75 lakh crore during the period will be achieved well before time as 50 lakh farmers were added to avail this scheme every year.

He denied that any branch of the RRB was closed but clarified that if there were three grameen banks in a region, those were amalgamated into one branch.

Mr Amar Singh of the Samajwadi Party wanted to know the status of the Rs 3,700 crore package for six districts of Vidharbha region, announced by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

Mr Chidambaram replied that his Ministry had already cleared the funds and the distribution part of the money was being taken care of by the Ministry concerned.

The minister also made it clear that all the farmers would get short-term credit from these banks at seven per cent interest only.

UNI