PATIALA:  Just one day has been left to display the list of beneficiaries of Rs. 71,680 crore farmer's Debt Waiver Scheme and debt relief scheme and Government of India has clarified 34  queries only on Thursday, a day before scheme closing on June 30.

An email from Amitabh Verma, Joint Secretary to the Government of India has reached to all bank branches through their head offices regarding clarifications of certain things.

Apart for other things GOI has clarified that In the case of NPA loans, no interest will be applied from the date when the loan account was classified as NPA. Hence, interest on loans classified as NPA for any period after it was so classified can neither be claimed from the Government nor from the farmer. Unapplied interest on NPA loans will neither to be claimed from the Government nor from the farmer

An e mail said that the entire applicable interest on the investment loan that was overdue as on December 31, 2007 and remains unpaid as on February 29, 2008 in the account of the farmer shall be included in the calculation of "eligible amount".

The eligible amount outstanding as on 29.02.2008 qualifies for debt waiver/debt relief.  Hence, any amount written off after 29.2.2008 which would, otherwise, have been eligible for reimbursement     under the Scheme, will qualify for reimbursement.

The debt waiver/debt relief admissible on the eligible amount paid after 29.02.2008 should be credited to the account of the borrower by September 30, 2008.

It is the intention of the Government that once the debt waiver or debt relief has been granted, the account should be treated as a standard account with effect from June 30, 2008. Government has promised to reimburse the banks the loan amount that has been waived or accorded relief in accordance with the Scheme. Hence, the issue of classification will be suitably addressed by the RBI.

It has already clarified that  that lending institutions shall neither claim from the Central Government, nor recover from the farmer, (i) interest in excess of the principal amount, (ii) unapplied interest, (iii) penal interest, (iv) legal charges, (v) inspection charges and (vi) miscellaneous charges, etc. All such interest/charges will be borne by the lending institutions.

 The overdue amount in case of Government sponsored schemes,   eligible under the Scheme, will be calculated after adjusting the back- ended subsidy.

Harvesters and Combines, if financed as a Direct Agricultural Investment Loan will be included.  Motor Cycles, Jeeps, Trucks are not included.

Since the interest subvention has been provided through the Bank, the claim should also be lodged through the Bank.

Loans to sugarcane and banana crops are covered under Short Term Production Credit with the repayment schedule varying from 12 to 18 months.  

Insurance premium debited in the loan accounts can be included in the 'eligible amount'.

Dairy, poultry, fisheries etc are treated as allied activities. Only investment credit for allied activities intended for acquiring assets in respect of such allied activities will be covered.

Only direct agricultural loans given to farmers by lending institutions as defined in the Scheme are covered.  If   'Samithis' is not a lending institution as defined in the Scheme and the loans are not direct agricultural loans to each farmer, this does not fall within the scope of the Scheme.

The amount of interest in excess of the principal disbursed will be borne by the lending   institutions.

No interest shall be charged on the eligible amount for any period between February 29, 2008 and June 30, 2009.  In the case of a farmer who defaults on the OTS commitment, he will not be entitled to debt relief and, in the case of that farmer, the lending institution may charge interest for the period after June 30, 2009.

 There is another kind of loan, namely, working capital loan.  In such cases, the working capital loan account could become an irregular account and some amount may have become overdue as on December 31, 2007. That overdue amount of working capital loan qualifies for debt waiver or debt relief, subject to the condition that the amount is limited to Rs.100,000. If the working capital loan is in excess of Rs.100,000, debt waiver or debt relief will not apply to any amount in excess of Rs.100,000.