RBI announces relief package for debt-ridden farmers

Thiruvananthapuram, Dec 22 (UNI) The Reserve Bank of India has announced a package of relief measures approved by the Centre for debt-ridden farmers of 25 districts in Kerala, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh.

In Kerala, the districts covered under the package were Wayanad, Palakkad and Kasaragod. Farmers in these districts should contact scheduled banks for mitigating their debt problems, Spices Board Chairman V J Kurian said in a statement here today.

The components announced included waiver of interest on overdue loans as on July 1, 2006 and rescheduling of overdue loans for a period of three to five years with a one year moratorium, the statement added.

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