Andhra, Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka emerge as top states in bank credit to agriculture in FY25

Reserve Bank of India

Andhra Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Karnataka emerged as the top states in bank credit to the agriculture sector as of March 2025, reflecting strong demand for farm financing and robust lending activity by banks.

The three states together accounted for a significant share of the total agricultural credit disbursed during the period.

According to the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) Handbook of Statistics on Indian States 2024-25, bank credit to agriculture in Andhra Pradesh stood at Rs 2.82 lakh crore as of March 31, 2025, followed by Rs 2.12 lakh crore in Uttar Pradesh, and Rs 1.99 lakh crore in Karnataka.

Among the regions, the major credit to the agriculture have gone to the southern region of Rs 11.46 lakh crore. Northern region received bank credit to agriculture of Rs 3.98 lakh crore, followed by Rs 3,76 lakh crore to the central region.

The economic survey, tabled by the Finance Minister before the 2025 budget, showed that India’s agriculture sector showed growth in the recent quarter on account of improved conditions, driven by favourable weather patterns, advancements in agricultural practices, and government initiatives to enhance productivity and sustainability within the sector.

The survey said the agriculture sector recorded a growth rate of 3.5 per cent in the second quarter of FY25, a recovery compared to the previous four quarters, during which growth rates varied from 0.4 percent to 2 percent.

The ‘Agriculture and Allied Activities’ sector has long been the backbone of the Indian economy, playing a vital role in national income and employment. This sector contributes approximately 16 percent of the country’s GDP for FY24 at current prices and supports about 46.1 percent of the population, the survey had said.