RBI to release Rupees 1,700 cr for farmers: Dattatreya

Hyderabad: Union Minister of State for Labour Bandaru Dattatreya said that the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) would release around Rs. 1700 crore towards farm loans to the state owned banks in the State on Monday.

Speaking to media here on Sunday, Dattatreya said that the RBI officials responded positively on the complaints made regarding the tardy progress in sanctioning farm loans for the kharif crop.

Dattatreya said that a total of nearly Rs 23, 000 crore have to be disbursed for the farmers in the State. As an immediate measure, Rs 1,700 crore would be released on Monday, he added. He said that the old districts of Karimanagar, Nalgonda, Warangal, Adilabad, Nizamabad, Mahabubnagar, Khammam and Rangareddy would get Rs. 130 crore each towards the farm loans while Hyderabad and Medak would be getting Rs. 200 crore each.

"If more funds are required for the state, I will work for that," said Dattatreya. He said that the issue of imposing a 2% service charge on banking transactions would be taken up with Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Monday. The taxation issues on textiles, readymade clothes and beedi industry in GST would also be discussed with the Finance Minister, the Minister added.

Dattatreya also said that the Centre and state governments should work in tandem for the success of the GST. With the roll out of GST, the GDP growth rate would get a boost and inflation would come down, he said. During the initial stage, there would be some problems due GST, but in the long run, it would benefit the poor and the general public, he added.