The total outstanding debt of farmers to banks in the country stood at Rs 5,90,728 crore on March 31, 2009, the Rajya Sabha was informed today.
"As per the information made available by National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) and Reserve Bank of India (RBI), the total outstanding agricultural loan as on March 31, 2009, is Rs 5,90,728 crore," Minister of State for Agriculture K V Thomas said in a written reply to the Upper House.
The outstanding agricultural bank loan of Punjab and Haryana farmers stood at Rs 27,100 crore and Rs 22,416 crore respectively, the reply said.
"As per provisional figures, 4,21,278 farmers in Punjab and 8,85,102 in Haryana are estimated to have been benefited under the agricultural debt waiver and debt relief scheme, 2008," the minister said.
About three crore small and marginal farmers and about one crore other farmers around the country benefited from the debt waiver and relief schemes announced in the 2008-09 Budget.