Actions in times of waivers

The feasible path out of the agrarian vicious circle has to be gradual, not a mercurial leap

The last debt waiver in 2008 amounted to Rs 70,000 crore. With mounting distress, a similar nationwide write-off will amount to several lakh crore rupees, in the neighbourhood of the net non-performing assets of public sector banks. That situation rightly causes severe concern to the Reserve Bank of India and its governor. The stressed peasantry debt burden of a like order of magnitude needs to be “owned” by a similar agency. Ownership in this instance means a vigilant oversight of required actions and pursuit of correctives. The premier agriculture finance body, the National Bank of Agriculture and Rural Development (Nabard),