Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah. (Express File Photo)
PUSHED BY farmers’ protests in Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh, and farm loan waivers announced by his counterparts in Maharashtra, UP and Punjab, CM Siddaramaiah of Karnataka on Wednesday announced waiver of loans up to Rs 50,000 that farmers took from cooperative banks.
Announcing that loans amounting to Rs 8,165 crore will be waived through this move, helping over 22.27 lakh farmers, Siddaramaiah urged PM Narendra Modi to waive farm loans taken from commercial and nationalised banks as well. He said 80 per cent of the Rs 52,000-crore borrowing of farmers in Karnataka is from these banks, so “on behalf of our farmers I request the PM to consider the acute drought and waive farmer loans from commercial banks”.
The chief minister asserted, “Unlike in states such as UP, where only announcements have been made, we are issuing an order to bring the loan waiver into immediate effect.”
