Under the visionary leadership of the Chief Minister HemantSoren, a continuous thrust is being given to the process of linking the farmers of the state with the Kisan Credit Card (KCC). The fruition of the efforts made by the government is being reflected in the number of KCC holders that on 15th September, 2022 stand at a figure of 19,18,511. An additional 5,34,331 new KCCs have got approval after September of 2021. KCC has proven to be a blessing for the farmers of the state by providing them loans at a simplified rate.
It has established itself as a boon for the farmers, who are not only getting loans that aid their agrarian practices but which also liberate them from the clutches of the moneylenders. Tremendous improvement has been witnessed in the agriculture loan segment due to the efforts made by the present government. A testimony of this is the sanction of more than Rs900 crores worth of loans by the present government, whereas only Rs 409 crore was disbursed from the formation of the state till December 2019.
Under KCC, an amount of 420.74 crores in June 2021, 581.53 crores in August 2021, 685.16 crores in October 2021, 914.2 crores in December 2021 and 1313.36 crores in April 2022 has been approved by the bank. 17.76 lakh farmers in April 2022 and 19.50 lakh farmers in September 2022 were linked to KCC respectively . A target has been set to cover 22.50 lakh farmers with KCC by December 2022 as well as 25.50 lakh farmers are to be covered by March 2023.
The Kisan Credit Card loan is available to farmers at 7 percent interest rate, with a waiver of 3 percent of the interest by the Government of India, when the loan is repaid within the time limit. Keeping in mind the economic condition of the farmers of Jharkhand, the state government is also helping the farmers with an additional 3 percent interest. In this way, if the loan is returned by the farmer within the time limit, the farmer has to bear the burden of only 1 percent interest. So far, KCC of 8,96,108 farmers has been achieved under the campaign by organising camps at the Panchayat level.
The SarkarApkeDwaar campaign shall be launched soon under the aegis of which farmers can avail the benefits of KCC. Currently, a door-to-door campaign is being run to achieve the set goals besides the KCC camps. It should be remarked that on June 23rd, 2022 a Mega Kisan Credit Card distribution campaign was organised across all the blocks of the state in order to extend the benefits of the scheme to the maximum number of beneficiaries. Prior to this on June 8th, 2022 District level Mega Kisan Credit Card distribution campaign was organised across all the districts of the state.
“On the orders of the Chief Minister, KCC is being provided to the farmers on a war footing. KrishakMitras, ATMs, BTMs and BALWs are going village to village and getting KCC forms filled by the farmers. As a result, of which the highest number of KCC applications have been filled since the year 2021,” said NeshaOraon, Director, Department of Agriculture, Animal Husbandry & Co-operative.
