The Union government is not considering any proposal to waive loans of farmers. However, some major inititives have beeen taken to reduce the debt burden of farmers, Bhagwat Karad, minister of state in the Union Ministry of Finance, told the Rajya Sabha March 15, 2022.
The Government of India implements an interest subvention scheme for short-term crop loans up to Rs three lakh. The scheme provides interest subvention of two per cent per annum to banks on use of their own resources.
Besides, an additional three per cent incentive is given to the farmers for prompt repayment of the loan, thereby reducing the effective rate of interest to four per cent, Karad said.
Fertiliser shortage
Chattisgarh did not witness any shortage of fertilisers during 2021-22 (up to February 2022). However, seven districts reported 18 grievances regarding the sale of fertilisers in seven districts, Mansukh Mandaviya, minister of state for chemicals and fertilisers, told the Rajya Sabha.
MGNREGS funds
The Centre enhanced the financial allocation under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme for 2020-21 to Rs 1,11,500 crore at Revised Estimate stage, from Rs 61,500 crore at Budget Estimate stage, Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti, minister of state in the Union Ministry of Rural Development, told the Lok Sabha.
Organic farming
The government is promoting organic farming through dedicated schemes namely Paramparagat Krishi Vikas Yojana (PKVY) and Mission Organic Value Chain Development in North East Region (MOVCDNER), Narendra Singh Tomar, Union minister of agriculture and farmers welfare told the Lok Sabha.
Farmers are provided financial assistance of Rs 31,000 per hectare (ha) for three years under PKVY and Rs 32,500 per ha for three years under MOVCDNER, for organic inputs such as seeds, bio-fertilisers, bio-pesticides, organic manure, compost / vermi-compost, botanical extracts, etc, he added.
Compost quality
The Centre provides assistance of up to Rs 85 lakh to states for setting up quality testing laboratories for biofertilisers / organic fertilisers under the Soil Health Management scheme, Tomar told the Lok Sabha.
There are seven central government organic fertiliser-testing laboratories and 25 laboratories notified by state governments for quality testing of various types of compost, he added.
Tobacco farmers
The department of agriculture and farmers welfare is implementing the Crop Diversification Programme, a sub-scheme of the Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana in 10 tobacco growing states. This is being done to encourage tobacco farmers to shift to alternative crops, Tomar said.
Mollem power lines
No transmission element of the Goa-Tamnar power transmission project is located in the Mollem National Park, Goa. However one of the elements of the project is proposed to pass through Bhagwan Mahaveer Wildlife Sanctuary, which is located near Mollem, RK Singh, Union minister of new and renewable energy and power, told the Rajya Sabha.
Out-of-Pocket health expenditure
India’s Out-Of-Pocket Expenditure (OOPE) as percentage of Current Health Expenditure (CHE) is 55.1 per cent. This is according to the National Health Accounts (NHA) Estimates for India for 2017-18.
The OOPE on health as percentage of CHE in the country for 2015-16, 2016-17 and 2017-18 was 64.7 per cent, 63.2 per cent and 55.1 per cent respectively. Therefore, there is a declining trend in OOPE as percentage of CHE, Bharati Pravin Pawar, minister of state in the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, told the Rajya Sabha.