India hikes farm loan waiver limit to Rs.716 bn

By IANS,

New Delhi : India’s cabinet Friday raised the net amount available for the ambitious farm loan waiver scheme to Rs.716.8 billion from the Rs.600 billion set aside when the announcement was made end-February.


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Finance Minister P. Chidambara, who made the announcement here after a cabinet meeting presided over by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, said the move was necessitated by the revision in the estimates of beneficiaries of the scheme.

Against the original estimate of 30 million small and marginal farmers and 10 million others who were to benefit from the scheme, the current estimates are 36.9 million and 5.97 million, respectively, the finance minister said, and also announced fresh guidelines for availing of the loan-waiver scheme.

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