Business Standard

Farmers' suicide a media hype'

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Shashikant Trivedi New Delhi

Central Bank of India on Wednesday said misuse of farm loans was the prime reason of increasing NPAs (non-performing assets). The bank also brushed aside Madhya Pradesh government’s claim that farming is a non-profitable business in India. The bank also said rising number of farmers committing suicide was just media hype.

“Every business is profitable and agriculture is no exception. Farmers just misuse bank loans and skip repayment. If farming is a loss making business why do they continue with it? Why they go for alternate channels of loans?” MV Tanksale, chairman of the bank asked here on Wednesday after a meeting.

 

The National Crime Records Bureau’s (NCRB) latest report on ‘Accidental Deaths & Suicides in India’ places the number for 2010 at 15,964. Nearly two-thirds of all farm suicides have occurred in five States: Maharashtra, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, the NCRB report says.

He said his bank would re-strategies its farm loan recovery process so that more farmers can make repayments. “Farmers suicide numbers is just media hype,” he said.

The state government has included its seven-pronged development strategy to make farming a profitable business. Also the state Human Rights Commission had taken suo-motto cognizance of rising number of farmers’ suicide cases in the state and recommended that farming should be made profitable with collective efforts of bankers and state authorities.

The bank has plans to open ultra small branches in non-bankable areas and brick and mortar branches where population is

The public sector bank performed dismally for the quarter ended March 31, 2012 and posted has posted a net loss of Rs 105.23 crore. The bank's net profit for the corresponding January-March period in FY 2011 stood at Rs 132.7 crore. It has plans to open more branches and ATMs and also pump in money in restructuring. “I have plans to open 200 branches and 1000 ATMs this year,” Tanksale added.

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First Published: Jun 07 2012 | 12:45 AM IST

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