Why is it in the news?
The government highlighted progress and reforms under the Kisan Credit Card (KCC) scheme.
The scheme continues to expand credit access to farmers and allied sectors.
Category: Economy
Important Points:
● Kisan Credit Card Scheme was launched in 1998 to provide short-term institutional credit to farmers.
● It covers crop cultivation, post-harvest needs and allied activities like fisheries and animal husbandry.
● The Modified Interest Subvention Scheme provides concessional interest rates on loans.
● Short-term crop loans up to ₹3 lakh are available at 7% interest, reduced to 4% with subvention.
● The collateral-free loan limit has been increased to ₹2 lakh per borrower.
● The overall KCC loan limit has been enhanced to ₹5 lakh including allied activities.
● The scheme provides flexible revolving credit for up to five years.
● Over 7.72 crore KCC accounts are active with outstanding credit of about ₹10.2 lakh crore.
● Digital reforms include RuPay-enabled cards and the Kisan Rin Portal for faster processing.