Press Information Bureau

Government of India

Ministry of Finance

25-November-2011 18:57 IST

The Government of India implemented Agricultural Debt waiver and Debt Relief Scheme (ADWDRS), 2008 which aimed at de-clogging the line of credit that were clogged due to the debt burden on the farmers and to entitle these farmers for fresh credit. All agricultural loans disbursed by Public Sector Banks, Private Sector Banks, Cooperative Banks, Local Area Banks and Regional Rural Banks between 01 April 1997 to 31 March 2007 to farmers, overdue as on 31 December 2007 and remaining unpaid upto 28 February 2008 were eligible for Debt Waiver/Debt Relief. The Debt Waiver portion of the Scheme was closed on 30.6.2008. The Debt Relief portion of the Scheme was closed on 30.6.2010.

The Government of India (GoI) has so far released an amount of Rs.52419.88 crore to the lending institutions as reimbursement under the Scheme.

This information was given by the Minister of State for Finance, Shri Namo Narain Meena in written reply to an Unstarred Question in Lok Sabha today.

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DSM/Hb

Agricultural debt waiver and relief scheme restores farmers' access to fresh credit by reimbursing lending institutions. The Agricultural Debt Waiver and Debt Relief Scheme (ADWDRS), 2008 aimed to de-clog agricultural credit by providing Debt Waiver and Debt Relief for eligible farm loans that were overdue as of 31 December 2007 and unpaid up to 28 February 2008, covering loans from public and private banks, cooperative banks, local area banks and regional rural banks; the Debt Waiver closed on 30 June 2008 and the Debt Relief closed on 30 June 2010, and the Government reimbursed lending institutions under the Scheme.