Naidu speaks to RBI Governor

Hyderabad: Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu on Wednesday urged the RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan to consider the proposal of the State Government to waive off the agriculture loans on compassionate grounds.

Naidu first had a telephonic conversation with Rajan and later wrote a detailed letter to him. He said that while he understands the concerns expressed by RBI, the apex bank needs to understand the circumstances under which the state government had decided to go in for loan waiver sc heme. He said the coastal region of the state was most vulnerable to cyclones and the Rayalaseema region is often prone to drought and famine.

Earlier, for the second consecutive day, Naidu had a meeting with bankers and officials of finance and agriculture departments to formulate modalities for implementing the crop loan waiver scheme. During the meeting, the Chief Minister is learnt to have tried to convince the bankers to accept his proposal of waiving off crop loans by issuing long-term security bonds to bankers in lieu of cash as the State is facing revenue deficit.