Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced a Rs 2 lakh crore concessional credit boost for farmers under the Kisan Credit Card scheme.
This is aimed at providing farmers access to institutional credit at concessional rates. Around 2.5 crore farmers are expected to benefit from this move, the finance minister said.
She added that fishermen and animal husbandry farmers will also be included under this scheme.
A Rs 30,000 crore additional emergency working capital funding will also be provided to farmers via the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD).
This, the finance minister said, will be over and above the Rs 90,000 crore support to farmers provided by NABARD through the normal refinance route during a year.
The move is expected to benefit 30 million farmers, especially the small and marginal ones, FM Sitharaman said.
The announcements were part of the second tranche of measures under the Rs 20 lakh crore economic stimulus package. These focussed on migrant workers, small farmers, street vendors, small traders, and self-employed people.
FM Sitharaman yesterday announced the first tranche of economic relief measures as part of the Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan. These were mainly aimed at micro, small and medium industries (MSMEs), non-banking finance companies (NBFCs), housing finance companies (HFCs) and microfinance instituions (MFIs), real estate, discoms, contractors as well as a few tax-related measures.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in his address to the nation on May 12, announced a Rs 20 lakh crore economic stimulus package in light of the COVID-19 situation.