The country's largest lender, State Bank of India (SBI), today said it has extended the period of its concessional financing to the farmers against warehouse receipts by another five months to September 30. The scheme was to expire on April 30, 2009.
The announcement comes after the bank extended, last week, its special home and car loans scheme at 8 per cent and 10 per cent, respectively, for the first one year, till September 30, 2009.
The state-run lender had in February started offering loans at a concessional rate of eight per cent to farmers against cold storage and warehouse receipts, in a bid to save them from falling prey to distress sale of their farm produce.
"This initiative has proved to be tremendously popular. Encouraged by the overwhelming market response to its scheme, SBI has decided to extend the concessional interest facility of eight per cent per annum until September 30," the bank said in a statement.
The loan would be available at a fixed rate of eight per cent for a period of 12 months in respect of loans sanctioned and disbursed till the end of September, SBI said.
Further, the biggest lender to agriculture said the move, apart from benefiting the farmers, would also time the market for storage requirements of the expected bumper wheat crop.