Kisan Credit Cards campaign launched for 1.5 crore dairy farmers

The government has launched the Kisan Credit Cards campaign to benefit dairy farmers. Under the special drive, Kisan Credit Cards will be provided to 1.5 crore dairy farmers belonging to Milk Unions and Milk producing Companies within the next two months between June 1-July 31, 2020.
The Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying in association with the Department of Financial Services have already circulated relevant circulars and KCC application format to all the State Milk Federation and Milk Unions to implement the same on a mission mode.
Approximately 1.7 crore farmers are associated with 230 Milk Unions in the country under the dairy cooperative movement.
Kisan Credit Cards campaign
• Under the first phase of the campaign, all farmers who are members of dairy cooperative societies and those associated with different Milk Unions and who do not have KCC will be covered.
• The farmers who already have Kisan Credit Cards based on their land ownership will be able to get their credit limit enhanced. However, interest subvention shall only be available to the extent of Rs 3 lakhs.
Though the general limit for KCC credit without collateral remains Rs. 1.6 lakh, but the case of farmers whose milk is directly procured by Milk Unions will fall under tie-up arrangements between the producers and processing units without any intermediaries, and hence their credit limits without collateral can be up to Rs 3 lakh.
• The decision will ensure more credit availability for dairy farmers associated with Milk Unions as well as assuring repayment of loans to banks.
Significance
The Kisan Credit Cards campaign to provide KCC to 1.5 crore dairy farmers is a part of the central government’s Atma Nirbhar Bharat package for Farmers. The Union Finance Minister, Nirmala Sitharaman had announced on May 15, 2020 that over 2.5 crore new farmers will be covered under the KCC scheme. This shall provide additional liquidity worth Rs 5 lakh crore to the farmers, who are suffering from the recent downturn of the economy.
Background
Dairy is among the fastest-growing sectors of the Indian economy with a Compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of above 6 percent in the last 5 years.
Hence, the move of providing short term credit to dairy farmers for meeting their requirements for working capital and marketing will in turn boost their productivity tremendously.

Source : jagranjosh