KRRS president Badagalpura Nagendra and others criticized the reduction of funds to NABARD and announced a protest against the move. | Photo Credit: SRIRAM MA
Karnataka Rajya Raitha Sangha (KRRS) has said that it will stage a demonstration in front of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in Bengaluru on January 29 in protest against reductithe on of funding to the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD).
Speaking to media persons here on Thursday, the KRRS president Badagalpura Nagendra said that the agricultural loan disbursed by NABARD last year was ₹5,600 crore, and it has been slashed to ₹2,340 crore this year.
He said farmers used to avail of short-term agricultural loans from NABARD as the interest was subsidized. But with the new policy that has led to slashing the funds, the farmers will be forced to approach private lenders who levy a higher rate of interest.
Mr. Nagendra said the Centre was reducing the quantum of funds to NABARD for the last 3 years, and it was hurting the interest of the farmers. Expressing concern over the reduction in the loan amount, Mr. Nagendra said this will have a debilitating impact on the agricultural sector.
The KRRS also condemned the microfinance institutions for harassing the farmers during loan recovery and wanted the RBI and the Government to regulate their operations.
Published – January 16, 2025 11:05 pm IST
