Parliament Question: Kisan Credit Cards in Tamil Nadu

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF FINANCE DEPARTMENT OF FINANCIAL SERVICES LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 3685 ANWERED ON MONDAY, MARCH 16, 2026/ PHALGUNA 25, 1947 (SAKA) Kisan Credit Cards in Tamil Nadu 3685. SHRI THARANIVENTHAN M S: Will the Minister of FINANCE be pleased to state: (a) the total number of Kisan Credit Cards (KCCs) issued since 2014, year-wise and State-wise, with specific data for Tamil Nadu; (b) whether the Government has taken any steps to ensure that small and marginal farmers, tenant farmers and women farmers have easy access to KCCs and if so, the details thereof; (c) the number of applications for KCCs rejected or pending, along with the reasons for such rejections, State-wise, especially in Tamil Nadu; (d) whether there is any proposal to expand the scope of KCCs to include allied sectors such as fisheries, animal husbandry, and sericulture, if so, the details thereof along with the status of implementation in Tamil Nadu; and (e) the steps being taken by the Government to reduce delays in disbursement, ensure fair interest rates and prevent debt burden on small farmers under the KCC scheme? ANSWER THE MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF FINANCE (SHRI PANKAJ CHAUDHARY) (a) to (c) The year-wise details of total Operative Kisan Credit Cards (KCC) Accounts since 2014 is provided at Annexure-I. Further, since Financial Year 2020-21, the year-wise and State/UT-wise details of number of Operative Kisan Credit Cards, including the State of Tamil Nadu is provided at Annexure-II. The detailed initiatives of Government to ensure easy access to KCC by small and marginal farmers, tenant farmers and women farmers are at Annexure- III. The data of rejected KCC applications is not centrally maintained. (d) Since February 2019, KCC scheme has also been extended to cover working capital requirement of Animal Husbandry, Dairying and Fisheries (AHDF). As reported by Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD), as on 31.12.2025, the total number of Operative KCC-AHDF Accounts across the country was 42,65,030 and the total amount outstanding was Rs 53,119 crore. Further, as on 31.12.2025, the total number of Operative KCC-AHDF Accounts in the State of Tamil Nadu was 6,48,241 and the total amount outstanding thereon was Rs 7,548 crore.(e) The Government of India’s Modified Interest Subvention Scheme (MISS) offers short- term agricultural loans to farmers at a concessional interest rate of 7% through Kisan Credit Cards (KCC), with banks receiving a 1.5% interest subvention. Farmers who repay promptly receive an additional 3% incentive, effectively reducing their interest rate to just 4%. Further, the Government has taken various steps to improve efficiency in disbursement of KCC loans and administration of Interest Subvention and Prompt Repayment Incentive available under Modified Interest Subvention Scheme for loans taken through KCC, which inter-alia include: • Kisan Rin Portal (KRP) has been launched in September 2023, enabling Aadhaar-based beneficiary verification and faster digital claim settlements under the Modified Interest Subvention Scheme (MISS) for loans availed through KCC. • The Jan Samarth portal has been started as a one-stop digital platform for linking Government-sponsored loans and subsidies Schemes. It provides a quick and efficient way to apply for loans and obtain approvals based on a digital evaluation of the applicant's data. *****Annexure-I Annexure referred to in part (a) to (c) of Lok Sabha Un-Starred Question no. 3685 on “Kisan Credit Cards in Tamil Nadu” answered on 16.03.2026 Year-wise details of total no. of Operative KCC Accounts since 2014 (Number of Accounts in Actual) As on 31st March of the No. of Operative KCC Accounts Financial Year 2013-14 7,00,62,527 2014-15 7,36,00,059 2015-16 7,52,70,009 2016-17 7,15,22,312 2017-18 6,92,09,336 2018-19 6,62,99,599 2019-20 6,52,80,254 2020-21 7,37,45,010 2021-22 7,14,90,107 2022-23 7,34,69,021 2023-24 7,75,04,234 2024-25 7,72,10,538 2025-26* 7,54,82,009 Source: RBI and NABARD *: Provisional data as on 31 December 2025Annexure-II Annexure referred to in part (a) to (c) of Lok Sabha Un-Starred Question no. 3685 on “Kisan Credit Cards in Tamil Nadu” to be answered on 16.03.2026 Year-wise and State/UT-wise details of number of Operative KCC accounts since Financial Year 2020-21 (Number of Accounts in Actual) Sl. No State/UT 2020-21 2021-22 2022-23 2023-24 2024-25 2025-26* 1 A & N ISLAND 7,868 9,389 9,056 8,324 8,368 8,980 2 ANDHRA PRADESH 46,05,047 45,69,808 45,51,558 48,53,487 47,33,502 46,50,958 ARUNACHAL 3 8,601 9,880 10,100 18,388 22,484 23,713 PRADESH 4 ASSAM 7,36,919 6,58,281 6,46,919 6,70,832 5,53,146 4,98,108 5 BIHAR 27,71,102 26,56,796 25,76,527 28,80,585 28,20,890 22,59,036 6 CHANDIGARH 70,857 1,393 1,475 1,582 1,010 739 7 CHHATTISGARH 17,66,266 17,82,290 19,17,435 21,45,836 19,08,855 19,73,475 8 DNHDD 489 1,417 1,581 1,543 1,447 1,202 9 GOA 14,015 8,347 9,458 11,649 11,903 9,540 10 GUJARAT 28,92,516 28,78,852 30,18,544 31,37,242 32,24,658 32,56,598 11 HARYANA 22,63,947 22,53,483 22,86,953 23,61,829 24,00,489 23,51,039 HIMACHAL 12 3,92,245 4,23,843 4,60,441 5,02,861 5,10,282 5,24,328 PRADESH 13 JAMMU & KASHMIR 10,08,862 9,33,555 9,10,514 10,66,887 11,13,136 11,16,132 14 JHARKHAND 9,25,401 9,21,919 9,67,591 9,95,531 9,68,619 9,16,330 15 KARNATAKA 48,23,251 47,35,000 47,21,067 54,98,818 53,76,105 57,81,201 16 KERALA 18,62,579 19,29,232 25,94,466 26,58,063 24,11,756 22,76,340 17 LADAKH 5,818 1,89,654 28,072 28,228 28,134 28,041 18 LAKSHADWEEP 331 24,685 1,770 2,555 3,110 3,375 19 MADHYA PRADESH 62,74,836 60,68,304 62,68,740 65,00,382 65,17,376 64,17,424 20 MAHARASHTRA 68,67,895 69,10,764 71,77,298 72,17,854 70,31,265 68,05,090 21 MANIPUR 18,464 17,806 19,693 19,699 18,309 17,917 22 MEGHALAYA 61,618 66,190 71,677 77,422 85,889 91,643 23 MIZORAM 24,442 27,182 35,093 51,561 42,682 37,367 24 NAGALAND 27,531 26,259 30,070 32,072 36,510 40,167 25 NCT OF DELHI 3,974 3,188 2,861 2,761 2,614 2,147 26 ODISHA 43,37,869 39,98,082 39,71,032 44,65,567 42,79,001 42,07,594 27 PUDUCHERRY 17,015 17,797 13,413 20,366 19,361 13,744 28 PUNJAB 22,44,289 21,67,026 21,98,101 22,34,658 21,67,523 21,31,833 29 RAJASTHAN 66,15,298 62,29,619 65,40,646 68,45,762 71,27,313 71,36,374 30 SIKKIM 7,043 6,555 8,702 10,115 10,995 9,957 31 TAMIL NADU 29,73,041 30,53,109 35,80,708 40,31,906 40,38,150 37,72,068 32 TELANGANA 42,59,731 42,71,628 43,37,476 45,08,942 45,76,239 47,44,737 33 TRIPURA 2,56,385 2,46,320 1,55,042 1,64,916 1,71,181 1,64,213 34 UTTAR PRADESH 64,87,677 1,05,32,039 1,07,05,196 1,09,17,055 1,09,56,279 1,04,45,486 35 UTTARAKHAND 53,99,542 5,46,806 5,08,644 5,54,157 5,11,706 5,02,984 36 WEST BENGAL 37,12,246 33,13,609 31,32,363 30,04,799 35,20,251 32,62,129 Total 7,37,45,010 7,14,90,107 7,34,70,282 7,75,04,234 7,72,10,538 7,54,82,009 Source: RBI and NABARD *: Provisional data as on 31 December 2025Annexure-III Annexure referred to in part (a) to (c) of Lok Sabha Un-Starred Question no. 3685 on “Kisan Credit Cards in Tamil Nadu” to be answered on 16.03.2026 Details of initiatives of the Government to ensure easy access to KCC by small and marginal farmers, tenant farmers and women farmers are as under: ➢ Through KCC, adequate and timely credit support is provided to the farmers (individual/joint borrowers who are owner cultivators), tenant farmers, oral lessees, share croppers, Self Help groups or Joint liability groups of farmers including tenant farmers and share croppers etc. ➢ In terms of extant guidelines on Priority Sector Lending (PSL) issued by RBI, banks are mandated to allocate at least 18% of their Adjusted Net Bank Credit (ANBC) or Credit Equivalent of Off-Balance Sheet Exposures (CEOBSE), whichever is higher, to agriculture, out of which a sub-target of 10 percent is prescribed for Small and Marginal Farmers (SMFs). Further, it also prescribes an incentive framework for districts with comparatively lower flow of credit to priority sector which also include credit to agriculture and Small & Marginal farmers and a dis-incentive framework for districts with comparatively higher flow of priority sector credit. ➢ In order to discourage distress sale by farmers and to encourage them to store their produce in warehouses, the benefit of interest subvention under KCC is available to small and marginal farmers for a further period of upto six months post the harvest of the crop against negotiable warehouse receipts on the produce stored in warehouses accredited with Warehousing Development Regulatory Authority (WDRA), at the same rate as applicable to the crop loan. ➢ The limit for collateral free short-term agricultural loans, including loans for allied activities, has been raised from Rs.1.60 lakh to Rs.2.00 lakh per borrower by RBI w.e.f 01 January 2025. This move enhances credit accessibility, particularly for small and marginal farmers (over 86% of the sector), who benefit from reduced borrowing costs and the removal of collateral requirements. ➢ In order to bring awareness about the benefits of the KCC scheme among farmers, Union/State Governments, RBI, NABARD and Banks conduct various awareness programmes and IEC (Information, Education and Communication) campaigns. Further, Government of India launched KCC Saturation Drive under Atma Nirbhar Bharat Abhiyan to provide KCC to all eligible farmers. Further, to expand the benefits of the Kisan Credit Card (KCC) to all eligible farmers engaged in Animal Husbandry, Dairy, and Fisheries (AHDF) nationwide district level weekly camps were also organized.