Abstract
India, being a welfare state, has citizens expecting the government to perform all kinds of welfare measures to all sections of the population, especially the agricultural community. Agricultural lending and financing play a pivotal role in India's agriculture sector, which employs over 50% of the country's workforce and contributes around 17-18% to the country's Gross Domestic Product (GDP). The first and foremost factor in providing agricultural finance by both the Central and State governments is that it should be made available at the doorsteps of farmers; that is, affordability is sine qua non for meeting their requirements such as buying agricultural equipment, raw materials and inputs with a view to increasing agricultural productivity. In the provision of agricultural finance to the farming community at large, there are two sources, namely, organised and unorganised sources. So far organized sources are concerned, commercial banks, cooperative banks, NABARD are worth mentioning and unorganized sources include indigenous bankers, traders, relatives and friends form part of it. The loan assistance offered to the farmers is with the aim of satisfying their commitments relating to expenses for crop cultivation, buying necessary seeds, pesticides and manures and various required input materials. From the tilling of soil to the reaping of corn during harvesting, all kinds of assistance are offered by these institutions. In addition, the government comes forward to chalk out various schemes for the promotion of the well-being of the farming community. This paper attempts to highlight the existing schemes launched for providing agricultural finance to the needy people.
Agricultural Finance
References
1. Datt & Sundaram, 72nd Edition ( 2018), ‘Indian Economy’, S. Chand, New Delhi. 2. Raghul B. Nagpal, (2017), “Agricultural Finance, Pacific Books International, New Delhi. 3. Economic Survey, Ministry of Finance, Government of India, 2022-2023.
Author information
Dr. K. Kaliyamurthy
Associate Professor & Head, Research Department of Economics, Urumu Dhanalakshmi College, Tiruchirappalli – 620 019, Tamil Nadu. [email protected]