Taking up the matter of farm distress in Tamil Nadu in the context of drought in the State, Opposition members in the Rajya Sabha on Wednesday demanded a waiver of crop loans.
While offering no assurance of a crop loan waiver, the government said the coverage of crop insurance was being increased.
Responding to the demands of crop loan waiver by Opposition parties, Commerce and Industry Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said, “The government is absolutely sensitive and seized of the matter.”
She said Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, Agriculture Minister Radhamohan Singh and Water Resources Minister Uma Bharti had met teams from Tamil Nadu on the distress faced by the farmers in the State.
Ms. Sitharaman said ₹1,000 crore had been released to Tamil Nadu for disaster management.
(With inputs from PTI)
