Farmers

Credit fillip for farmers
JAYANTA ROY CHOWDHURY & R. SURYAMURTHY
Rangarajan: Rural reach

New Delhi, Feb. 5: The government wants state-run banks to increase their rural reach and persuade farmers to trade expensive loans from moneylenders for cheaper credit from them.

This follows a report that says nearly 73 per cent of Indian farmers have no access to banks and co-operatives and some 51 per cent don’t get credit at all.

State-run banks are being asked to improve their city-to-village branch ratio in favour of villages.

Banks who are leaders in certain districts should work towards the goal of 100 per cent coverage of farmers.