Vijay unveils full waiver of crop loans up to ₹75k to TN farmers

Tamil Nadu chief minister C Joseph Vijay on Monday announced a full waiver on cooperative crop loans up to ₹ 75,000 distributed among the state’s farmers.

The additional waiver follows the government’s May 25 announcement of a complete waiver on crop loans up to ₹ 50,000 availed by small farmers. In a suo moto statement at the state assembly on Monday, Vijay said the latest waiver would cost the state exchequer ₹ 953.06 crore. Cooperative crop loans to the tune of an amount up to ₹ 75,000 would be waived completely, he said. However, loans between ₹ 75,000 and ₹ 1 lakh would be subject to a waiver of up to ₹ 75,000, while loans above ₹ 1 lakh would be subject to a ₹ 35,000 waiver.

“Only in a nation that respects agriculture and accords proper protection and support to farmers can the people live with prosperity and happiness,” said the chief minister.

Considering the representations of farmers’ associations across the state, a June 19 order was issued to revise the scheme, he said. “Under this, full loan waiver was announced for those who had borrowed up to ₹ 75,000 and a waiver of ₹ 35,000 for those who had borrowed above ₹ 75,000, thereby waiving cooperative crop loans to the tune of ₹ 5,932.23 crore to help 14.44 lakh (1.44 million) farmers,” he said. The bank accounts of 1.33 million farmers received a cumulative ₹ 5,267 crore under this waiver on July 31.

“2,38,264 farmers who have taken crop loans between ₹ 75,000 and ₹ 1 lakh will receive a waiver of up to ₹ 75,000 each. This will enable them to get an additional waiver of up to ₹ 40,000 over and above the waiver amount already received,” said the chief minister.

Although crop loans were waived in the past, amounts payable by the government to cooperative banks were remitted over a gap of 4 -5 years, he said, adding that the amount under crop loans waived in 2021 was remitted to cooperative banks in 12 instalments between 2021 and 2026.

As per the Reserve Bank of India’s November 28, 2025 guidelines on the operational procedure of government loan waiver schemes, the government must remit the full waiver amount completely to cooperative banks within 45 to 60 days. The latest waiver followed considerations on current financial resources, he said..

Farmers association across the state welcomed the announcement. “This announcement will meet the expectations of smaller and marginal farmers. We want the government to announce a full waiver of crop loans to all farmers. The government has announced a slab and based on that, they are waiving off the loans. For example if a farmer can only avail the waiver if has loaned an amount of ₹ 75,000 to ₹ 1 lakh. But, this will help only 50%of farmers in the state,” a member of Tamil Nadu Vivasayigal Sangam, told HT. He noted that a complete waiver on farm loans was mentioned in the Tamilaga Vetri Kazhagam’s assembly election manifesto, and demanded that the government fulfil the promise.

In its manifesto, the TVK had announced that cooperative crop loans to farmers owning up to 5 acres of land would be waived completely, while those owning more land would receive a 50% waiver.