Hyderabad, Nov 10 Telangana Deputy Chief Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka on Tuesday said banks should focus on restructuring of loans, and look into the possibility of tweaking interest rates to ease the burden of farmers and other sections affected by EL Nino.
He was addressing a special session on ‘Drought Relief Measures for Kharif 2026’ of the State Level Bankers Committee (SLBC) here.
“Along with restructuring existing loans, new credit should be provided to farmers for Rabi season,” he said, adding banks should adopt a proactive attitude with regard to extending financial help to different sections of the society.
Vikramarka, who also holds finance portfolio, said the farming community was the most affected.
The banks should also look into the needs of students dependent on education loans, women’s self-help groups, and MSMEs.
For the unemployed, the Congress government will be launching the ‘Rajiv Yuva Vikasam’ scheme on November 19, he said in an official release.
Vikramarka said, “Their (farmers) effort was there. The rainfall they depended upon, was unfortunately not there. A failed monsoon must not become a failed relationship between a farmer and his bank.”
Saying that the El Nino has brought climate risk directly into the lives and livelihoods of farmers, he said the government declared 365 mandals across 31 districts drought-affected, with 111 being severely affected.
“Behind these numbers are families who invested their savings and borrowed in the reasonable expectation of a harvest,” he said.
“The same rainfall deficit places pressure on groundwater, the electricity grid, the state’s finances and the farmer’s repayment capacity. Each of us sees a different part of the problem. Through this forum, we must respond to the whole of it,” he further said.
To ensure employment, the Deputy CM said the Telangana government has set itself a Rs 15,000 crore target with the state paying 40 per cent of the funds, through the VB-G RAM G scheme.
Agriculture Minister Tummala Nageswara Rao urged bankers to support the farming community given the rainfall deficit in the state caused by the ‘Super El Niño’ phenomenon, the release added.
(PTI News)
