The Gujarat government has extended interest waiver on repayment of crop loan from the cooperative sector till 30th June 2021. This was announced by the Chief Minister Vijay Rupani in view of the second wave of Covid-19 in the state. According to NABARD’s Credit Policy, the lenders in the cooperative sector provided short term crop loans at 7 per cent interest. The Central Government provided 3 per cent rebate and the Gujarat Government provided 4 per cent rebate on this for timely repayment.
The objective is to charge no interest on loans to encourage the farmers for timely repayment. The last date for repayment expired on 31st March for those farmers who had taken loans from the cooperative sector from 1st April to 30th September 2020.
Realizing that many farmers were unable to return the loan due to the extraordinary crisis, Gujarat Government has decided to extend the period of repaying the loan till 30th June. The State Government decided to reimburse the full interest rebate on repayment made till the 30th of June. This decision will provide big relief to the farmers who had taken a crop loans.