The centre on Monday said that there is no offer mentioned to waive loans of farmers, including Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe farmers. In a written reply to the Lok Sabha, Minister of State for Finance Bhagwat Karad said the government has not asked for any farm loan waiver scheme since “Agriculture Debt Waiver and Debt Relief Scheme (ADWDRS), 2008.”

The minister mentioned, “There is no such offer made to the Government of India to waive off the loans of farmers.” He also told important initiatives have been taken by the government and the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to lessen the debt burden of farmers and for the benefit of the people involved in the agriculture field.

He also mentioned schemes like interest subvention for short-term crop loans of over Rs 3 lakh, RBI’s decision to boost the limit for collateral-free agriculture loans from Rs 1 lakh to Rs 1.6 lakh, and direct income support of Rs 6,000 per year to farmers under Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM KISAN) scheme.