• Investment World
• eWorld
• Catalyst
• Mentor
• Life
• Canvas
• Praxis
• Urban Pulse
• Brand Quest

Our Bureau

HYDERABAD, April 23

IN a move to reduce non-performing assets in co-operative credit structure and also to provide relief to the farming community affected by drought and other natural calamities, the Andhra Pradesh Government has decided to implement one-time settlement (OTS) scheme for both agriculture and non-agriculture credit outstandings under the co-operative system.

Addressing a press conference here on Tuesday, the Chairman of the Andhra Pradesh State Co-operative Bank Ltd (APCOB), Mr T.D. Janardhan Rao, said as many as six lakh members of the primary agriculture co-operative societies (PACS) were expected to benefit from the OTS scheme to the tune of around Rs 160 crore.

The Government has decided to waive interest, penal interest and other charges on amounts eligible under OTS. These include Rs 25.25 crore under short-term agricultural loans, Rs 119.93 crore under long-term agricultural loans and Rs 15 crore under other loans, aggregating to Rs 159.58 crore.

APCOB and the district co-operative central banks (DCCBs) were advised by the Government to implement the OTS scheme and entertain applications from the members of PACS up to June 30 2002.

Eligible borrowers would have the option to remit either 100 per cent of the settlement amount or 25 per cent of that before June 30.

However, in case of latter option, the balance 75 per cent of settlement amount would have to be paid within one year with a simple interest of 12 per cent per annum.

Further, the Government has also decided to rationalise interest rates on both short and long-term advances through a three-tier structure.

This move was aimed at making lending rates competitive and affordable to the members and borrowers of the co-operative credit system, he said.

It was decided that the interest margins to APCOB, DCCBs and PACS would be fixed at the maximum of 0.5 per cent, two per cent and two per cent, respectively.

While the burden of Rs 120 crore resulting out of the proposed rationalisation of interest rates would be borne entirely by the State Government, the OTS burden of Rs 160 crore would be shared by APCOB, DCCBs and PACS to the tune of 40 per cent, 35 per cent and 25 per cent, respectively.

The State Government has also decided to extend interest rebate scheme providing five per cent interest rebate on short-term crop loans issued for kharif 2001 and a similar interest rebate on current instalments of long-term loans paid during the recovery year up to June 30, 2002, he said.

Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Stories in this Section
PNB Gilts net rises 140 pc; to pay 24 pc

Copyright © 2002, The Hindu Business Line. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu Business Line