Aadhaar must for crop loans: RBI

Farmers paying dues promptly will be given an additional interest subvention of 3% per annum

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Wednesday made Aadhaar linkage mandatory for availing short-term crop loans in 2017-18. The RBI said the central government would continue to provide interest rate subvention of 2 per cent on crop loans up to Rs 3 lakh. According to the existing rules, farm loans will be given at 7 per cent interest by banks from their own resources initially while the subvention of 2 per cent will be settled by the government. The maximum period for the loans would be one year. Farmers paying dues promptly will be given an additional interest subvention of 3 per cent per annum, making the final rate of interest of crop loans at 4 per cent.