Karnataka govt to waive interest on overdue loans of district cooperative banks: CM Siddaramaiah
Bengaluru: The Karnataka government has decided to waive interest on medium and long-term overdue loans of District Cooperative Central and Primary Cooperative Agriculture and Rural Development banks, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said on Friday, claiming that it would benefit more than 57,000 farmers.
Presenting the 2024-25 budget in the Assembly, he said an Agriculture Development Authority will be created under the chairmanship of the Chief Minister to facilitate effective implementation of policies related to agriculture and allied activities.
"Our government has decided to waive off interest on medium and long-term overdue loans of DCC and Primary Cooperative Agriculture and Rural Development (PICARD) banks. This will benefit more than 57,000 farmers. As a result of this scheme, the DCC/ PICARD banks will be able to recover loans to the tune of Rs.496 crore," Siddaramaiah said.
He said the government will provide ₹450 crore financial assistance by way of compensation to the banks under the scheme. "This decision will bring about a considerable improvement in the financial condition of these banks," the chief minister said.
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Siddaramaiah said that in 2023-24 it was decided to extend the loan limit for interest-free short term loan from ₹3 lakh to ₹5 lakh and, similarly, the upper limit for medium and long-term loans, which are provided at a subsidised interest rate of 3 per cent, was raised from ₹10 lakh to 15 lakh.
In the current year, the targeted lending through the cooperative sector is ₹27,000 crore, he said, adding that this would benefit more than 36 lakh farmers in the state.
To encourage integrated agriculture, various schemes related to the agricultural sector will be consolidated and a new scheme called 'Karnataka Raitha Samruddhi Yojane' will be started from this year, the chief minister said.
A new programme "Namma Millet" will be started, under which processed millets and value-added millets will be made available at affordable prices, he added.
To promote sustainable agriculture in drought-affected and rain-fed areas of the state and to aid soil and water conservation, 5,000 water bodies will be created over a period of five years, the chief minister said.
To promote processing, value addition and export of agricultural and horticultural produce, food parks will be established near airports under Public-Private Partnership, Siddaramaiah said.
In the current year, these food parks will be established at Sogane in Shivamogga district, Ittangihala in Vijayapura District and Pujenahalli village in Bengaluru rural district, he informed in the Assembly.
"Kisan Malls" will be opened in select districts to provide farmers with horticulture related technical guidance, market connectivity, farm implements and agro products under one roof, he said.
Floriculture is practised in 40,000 hectares of land in the State, Siddaramaiah said. To promote sales and exports of floricultural crops, a well-equipped commercial floriculture market of international standards will be set up in Bengaluru city under Public-Private Partnership, he added.
A "Spice Park" will be developed in Chikkamagaluru district under public-private partnership to encourage spice growing farmers and promote export of spices, he added.
To encourage dairy farming among women, six per cent interest subsidy will be provided on the condition of timely repayment of the loan availed for buying cow/ buffalo, the chief minister announced.
For the prevention of atrocities on nomadic shepherds and their properties, an Act will be enacted, he said. The government also plans to invest ₹3,000 crore in the coming years for all-round development of the fisheries sector, Siddaramaiah said. For emergency evacuation of fishermen in the event of health emergencies and accidents, the State's first sea ambulance will be introduced at a cost of ₹seven crore, the chief minister said. The government appreciates the Central Government's decision to recognise the contribution of M S Swaminathan in the field of agriculture by awarding him with the Bharat Ratna title, he said.
"In the same spirit, we will request the Central Government to calculate MSP based on the formula of cost of cultivation plus 50 per cent profit as recommended by the Swaminathan Committee."
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LIVE | Election Results of five states 2026
New Delhi: The countdown has begun for the counting of votes for the Assembly elections in five states that have captured the attention of people across the country.
The counting of votes for the Assembly constituencies of West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Assam and the Union Territory of Puducherry will begin simultaneously at 8 am, and the fate of candidates in a total of 824 constituencies will be decided shortly.
The counting of postal ballots will take place first, followed by the counting of EVM votes in several rounds.
► AIADMK leader Edappadi K. Palaniswami is leading in Tamil Nadu’s Edappadi constituency
► In Puducherry, BJP is leading in 3 seats.
► In Assam, BJP is leading in 56 seats, while Congress is leading in 12 seats.
► Suvendhu Adhikari leads in both Bhabanipur and Nandigram
► West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee faces setback in Bhabanipur constituency
► Bhupen Borah, who recently left Congress and joined the BJP, is leading in Assam’s Bihpuria constituency
► Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma is leading in Jalukabari constituency
► BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari is leading in West Bengal’s Nandigram constituencyFive-state elections: Postal vote counting begins
► TMC, BJP lead in one seat each in West Bengal
► In Tamil Nadu, DMK leads in 3 constituencies, while TVK leads in 1
► UDF leads in 5 seats in Kerala, BJP in 1, LDF in 1
► BJP leads in 2 seats, AIUDF in 1 in Assam
► AINRC leads in 1 constituency in Puducherry
► TMC leads in 5 seats in West Bengal; Mamata Banerjee’s party maintains initial lead
► Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin leads in Kolathur
► BJP takes early lead in Assam
► Congress-led UDF leads in Kerala
► Tamil Nadu, TVK chief Vijay leads in the Perambur constituency, lags in Tiruchirappalli South
► BJP leads in 10 seats in Assam
► LDF candidate V.P.P. Mustafa leads in the Thrikkaripur Assembly constituency
► Out of 294 seats in West Bengal, BJP is leading in 14 seats, TMC in 12 seats, Congress in 2 seats
► Out of 234 seats in Tamil Nadu, DMK is leading in 15 seats, AIADMK is leading in 5 seats, TVK is leading in 2 seats
► Out of 126 seats in Assam, BJP is leading in 31 seats, Congress in 4 seats, AIUDF in 2 seats.
► Out of 30 seats in Puducherry, NRC+ is leading in 3 seats, Congress in 2 seats, TVK in 1 seat.
► Congress’ Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury suffers a setback in theBerhampore constituency in West Bengal.
