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Farmers' distress may rise due to climate change: Mohanty

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Press Trust of India Mumbai
Last Updated : Jan 29 2016 | 7:08 PM IST
Climate change may increase farmers' distress in the country, Reserve Bank Executive Director Deepak Mohanty said today.
"There is a problem of farmers' distress where we have seen lots of farmers' suicide taking place and over time it is likely to go up in the light of climate change.
"That is why we have suggested for the universal crop insurance and I am happy to know that the government has launched such a scheme," he told reporters on the sidelines of an Assocham banking conclave here.
Mohanty had chaired the committee which submitted a report on financial inclusion to RBI.
"We have said that credit should flow to the sector so as to ensure that farmers are not affected while cultivating their crop," he said.
He said that 45 per cent of credit requirement comes from rural areas and last year, the agriculture credit in the country was to the tune of Rs 8 trillion.

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Mohanty also talked of use of technology to achieve the goal of financial inclusion.
"The issue concerning use of technology is important so as to... Reach the last mile. It is mobile banking which can help you achieve the goal and hence our report has emphasised on technological upgradation," he said.
"We have also said that the amount of insurance cover
being provided by CGTMSE to the MSMEs is not enough and hence we have talked to players to join the sector to take care of the ever increasing requirement of insurance cover to the SME sector," he said.
The committee report has devoted one full chapter on Islamic Banking at a time when RBI is yet to approve the banking model.
"Islamic Banking is not very different from the usual banking and we have devoted one full chapter on it in our report. But, whatever I have said on Islamic Banking today is in my personal capacity. Prime Minister is himself for hiking the bar and it can help the government achieve the goal," he said.
"What banks are doing right now is pricing of the risk through the interest rate. But what we are saying that pricing of risk can happen through ways other than interest rate so that more and more people join the banking sector.
"You can price risk without interest rate too or one can go for interest free banking. It can be done by way of risk sharing," he added.

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First Published: Jan 29 2016 | 7:08 PM IST

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