Finance Minister K.N. Balagopal has announced a financial rejuvenation loan scheme to be formulated using primary cooperative societies and commercial banks to overcome the crisis due to COVID-19.
The interest part will be borne by the State and the potential of NABARD’s refinancing schemes and the loan packages announced by the Centre and the Reserve Bank of India will be utilised.
The scheme will have three components — Cooperative Initiative for Agriculture Infrastructure in Kerala (CAIK), loan scheme for labour enterprises, and loans to Kudumbashree neighbourhood groups.
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Under CAIK, loans amounting to ₹2,000 crore will be provided this fiscal. The infrastructure rejuvenation loan scheme from NABARD for primary cooperative societies at 4% interest will be made available through Kerala Bank.
The Minister says a major obstacle in the development of the agriculture sector is the lack of capital formation. Improving investment credit can boost private capital formation and create local markets, warehouses, cold chain, and fruit processing centres.
Through this, it will be able to engage in areas such as fruit and vegetable markets, fish marketing facilities, hygienic meat marketing facilities, and processing centres for agriculture products.
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Under the loan scheme for labour enterprises, loans at reduced rates will be made available to start new enterprises in agricultural, industrial, and service sectors and to rejuvenate non-operational enterprises. The aim is to provide loans worth ₹1,000 crore in 2021-22. Bank loans of at least ₹1,000 crore will be made available to neighbourhood groups through Kudumbashree this fiscal. All loans up to ₹5 lakh will be made available at 4% interest. An amount of ₹100 crore is provided for interest subvention.