Correct Answer - Option 4 : 1998
The correct answer is 1998.
The Kisan Credit Card Scheme was introduced in 1998.
- The Kisan Credit Card scheme is a Government of India scheme which provides farmers with timely access to credit.
- The Kisan Credit Card (KCC) scheme was launched in 1998 with the aim of providing short-term formal credit to farmers.
- The KCC scheme was prepared by NABARD (National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development) on the recommendations of the R. V. Gupta Committee.
- The KCC scheme was introduced to ensure that the credit requirements for farmers in the agriculture, fisheries, and animal husbandry sectors were being met.
- This was done by helping them avail short-term loans and provide them with a credit limit to purchase equipment and for their other expenses as well.
- The KCC scheme is being implemented by all Co-operative banks, Regional Rural Banks, and Public Sector Banks throughout the country.
- The validity period is five years, with an option to extend for up to three more years.
- Kisan Credit Card (KCC) offering credit to the farmers in two types:
- Cash Credit.
- Term Credit.
- The rate of interest on this type of loan is also considerably low compared to agriculture term loan under the scheme farmers have the option of rescheduling the repayment
- Moreover, with the help of KCC, farmers are exempt from the high interest rates of the regular loans offered by banks as the interest rate for KCC starts as low as 2% and averages at 4%.
- With the help of this scheme, farmers can repay their loans depending on the harvesting period of their crop for which the loan was given.
- On 14th May 2020, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced a concessional credit of Rs 2 lakh crore to benefit 2.5 crore farmers through the Kisan Credit Card scheme.
- The government will undertake a special drive to provide this credit to PM-KISAN beneficiaries through the Kisan Credit Card.
