Features Of Kisan Credit Card

Team SahiBnk

23 Febraury, 2023

There is no if and but attached to the point that agriculture is the backbone of the Indian economy. More than 70% of Bharat’s population solely depends on farming. Even after giving such a big contribution to the country’s economy, the economic security of the farmers has always been the talk of the town. But ever wondered, why in the land of agriculture, farmers are economically weak or unstable? Why more than 20% of farmers are still below the poverty line even after ranking second in farm outputs worldwide? It’s the unawareness about the financial support banks and the government provides. Farmers always found taking loans from a private money lender much easier than understanding schemes the Indian government came up with or facilities banks provide.

To help the plight of farmers, the Indian government introduced a financial product, Kisan Credit Card Yojana, in 1998, customized for farmers based on the model proposed by NBARD (National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development). The scheme was designed for the farmers in a bid to mitigate any financial shortcomings experience during crop cultivation, harvesting, and maintenance. The scheme helps the farmers to readily purchase the farming inputs like seeds, fertilizers, and pesticides. Ever since its launch, this farmers’ life-illuminating scheme has always enhanced its services, stretching its arms from farming to non-farm activities in 2004 and then further simplifying the scheme with the Electric Kisan Credit Card in 2012.

A game changer for farmers

You opened the newspaper to read about the daily happenings in the country and encountered how the farmers lost their whole savings to rain or drought. It’s depressing, right? So, to overcome these hurdles in farmers’ lives, our government launched Kisan Credit Card Yojana which is implemented across the country by the Public Sector, Cooperative Banks, and Regional Rural banks. This scheme helps farmers get short-term loans to meet their urgent expenses coming during the cultivation of crops and even for farming equipment maintenance.

From offering a credit limit of ₹10,000 to ₹50,000 to marginal farmers, Kisan Credit Card has also kept its interest rate minimal to 4% to 7% for the short-term loan of ₹300,000, depending on how promptly a farmer does the repayment. The card is available for all types of farmers, individuals, communal, fish farmers, poultry farmers, and dairy owners. The prime aim of the scheme is to provide the farmers with adequate and on-time credit support under the banking system under one window for their cultivation and other needs.

Salient features of Kisan Credit Cards

You must have heard about farmers losing their crops to dry lands as there was less rainfall than required and they cannot afford the installation of a pump. And a few farmers lost the surplus crops on their farms because they couldn’t harvest them on time due to the unavailability of the harvesting machine. Considering all the unwelcoming situations, Kisan Credit Card Yojana was designed to handle the practical unwanted situations farmers face in their farming. So, the perks of owning the Kisan Credit Card make farmers more confident about their financial situations and help them take wise decisions for their crops. Here are the invincible features of the Credit Card that is slowly empowering the farmers of the nation:

1. The Kisan Credit Card allows the farmers to get a loan according to the crop they reap and repay the amount according to the harvest season of the crop.
2. Repaying the amount is made easy with KCC (Kisan Credit Card) as it offers a 12-month repayment period, making it convenient for the farmers to repay the amount.
3. The card acts soft during tragic situations like natural calamities or any other unforeseen situation. The cardholder can reschedule their repayments and pay the loan after the successful harvesting.
4. Being a Kisan Credit Card holder, you get insured benefits of up to ₹50,000 in case of death, permanent disability, or any other financial losses arising from the accident.
5. The card they receive is an ATM cum Credit Card that can be used in any ATM machine to withdraw cash.
6. You get a card with a validity of three years without any annual fees or membership charges.
7. The limit of the credit amount sanctioned is flexible. It depends on the repayment history, the better the repayment history, the higher the credit limit.
8. Getting a Kisan Credit Card is as simple as the disbursement of the credit, a simplified application and documentation are all you need to get the credit card.

Kisan Credit Card Yojana acts as the best saviour for the plight of farmers who need short-term loans or loans based on their financial needs. And, with the increased promotion by the government and involvement of all types of banks and small finance banks, the scheme holds the power to empower farmers of Bharat.