Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah urges FM Sitharaman to enhance NABARD loan in state

New Delhi: Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Thursday met Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman here and requested her to direct the NABARD and RBI to enhance the limit for Short Term Agricultural Loans for the year 2024-25 in the interest of farmers and ensure help in normal food grains production in the state.

For the year 2023-24, NABARD had sanctioned an SAO concessional limit of Rs 5,600 crore. When it comes to the year 2024-25, as against the applied limit of Rs 9,162 crore, NABARD has sanctioned an SAO limit of only Rs 2,340 crore which is 58 per cent less as compared to last year. NABARD said that the reason for a reduced limit this year is due to the fact that the RBI had allocated less under the General Line of Credit.

"Karnataka has received very good monsoon rains and the farmers are demanding that the disbursement of SAO loans for their agricultural co-operations be enhanced. The drastic reduction in sanctioning SAO loan limit to Karnataka will drastically hamper the disbursement of short term agricultural co-operation loans in Karnataka for the year 2024-25," the CM said in his memorandum.

"Karnataka has set a target of disbursing Short Term Agricultural loans of Rs 25,000 crore to 35 lakh farmers for the year 2024-25. Through the short term co-operative credit structure during the year 2023-24, short term agricultural loans of Rs 22,902 crore have been disbursed in the state of Karnataka," he added.

The Karnataka State Co-Operative Apex Bank Limited has requested and sent a proposal to NABARD to sanction an SAO limit of Rs 9,162 crore for the year 2024-25 on behalf of Short Term Co-Operative Credit Structure, the CM said in his memorandum.

Agriculture Minister Cheluvaraya Swamy and Urban Development Minister Byrathi Suresh were also present during the meeting.

Earlier, the CM revealed that the NABARD loan to Karnataka this year had been reduced. Last year, Rs 5,600 crore had been given; while this year, it is Rs 2,340 crore, marking a 58 per cent decrease.