4 States Sign MoUs for Digital Credit Access to Farmers

In News: 4 States Sign MoUs for Digital Credit Access to Farmers

Context:

• On June 14, 2025, Maharashtra, Kerala, Bihar, and Odisha signed MoUs with the PSB Alliance and the National Farmers’ Welfare Program Implementation Society at the Agri Stack Conference, New Delhi.
• Aim: To enable seamless digital access to credit services via Farmer Registry-linked authentication.

Key Features of the Initiative:

1. Digital Credit Access:
   • Paperless loans through farmer registries.
   • Special focus on small and marginal farmers.
2. Agri Stack Integration:
   • Linked with PM-KISAN, PMFBY (crop insurance), Kisan Credit Card (KCC).
   • Will provide personalised agricultural services based on digital datasets.
3. Financial Allocation:
   • ₹6,000 croreearmarked by Centre.
     • ₹4,000 crore → Farmer registries (including legal heir mechanisms).
     • ₹2,000 crore → Digital crop surveys.
   • Funds on first-come-first-served basis to states.
4. New Digital Services:
   • Farmer Authorisation Systems.
   • Digitally Verifiable Certificates (secure land & crop info sharing).
   • AI-powered Agri Chatbot (built on Google Gemini), multilingual, query support.
5. State Highlights:
   • Maharashtra: Statewide farmer registry enrolment, proposed Data Provisioning Engine, launched Mahavistaar AI advisory platform.
   • Uttar Pradesh: Linked Agri Stack with MSP e-procurement (2024).
   • Karnataka: Integrated with banking & disaster relief systems.
6. Special Central Assistance Guidelines:
   • Jointly launched by Agriculture & Land Resources secretaries.
   • Stress on updating Records of Rights for accurate registries.

Significance:

• Governance: Transparent, farmer-centric, and technology-driven.
• Financial Inclusion: Simplifies credit access for small/marginal farmers.
• Efficiency: Reduces paperwork, fraud, and delays in loan disbursement.
• Data-driven Agriculture: Enables AI-driven advisory, personalised schemes.
• Policy Convergence: Brings together multiple schemes under one digital platform.
  
  Updated - Jun 14, 2025 ; 12:59 PM | ET