Over 50 percent of the country’s agricultural households were in debt in 2019 with an average outstanding credit per household of Rs 74,121, according to a survey by the National Bureau of Statistics (NSO).
The survey further indicates that only 69.6 percent of outstanding loans came from institutional sources such as banks, cooperatives and government agencies, while 20.5 percent of loans came from professional moneylenders.
Of the total loan, only 57.5 percent were taken out for agricultural purposes.
“Percentage of farm households in debt: 50.2 percent; and average amount of outstanding loans per farm household: Rs. 74,121,” it said.
From January to December 2019, the NSO carried out a survey on household farming and livestock farming and a situation assessment of agricultural households in rural areas of the country.
The survey further found that the median monthly income per farm household was Rs 10,218 for the 2018-19 agricultural year. Of these, the average income per household from wages was 4,063 rupees, crop production 3,798 rupees, animal husbandry 1,582 rupees, non-farms 641 rupees and leasing of land 134 rupees.
According to the survey, the number of farm households in the country was estimated at 9.3 billion, of which 45.8 percent are OBCs, 15.9 percent SC, 14.2 percent ST, and 24.1 percent others.
The survey estimates non-agricultural households living in rural areas at 7.93 crore. It also found that 83.5 percent of rural households owned less than 1 hectare of land, while only 0.2 percent owned land greater than 10 hectares.
Meanwhile, the NSO said in another report that the incidence of indebtedness in rural India was about 35 percent (40.3 percent in households with cultivators, 28.2 percent in households without cultivators) compared with 22.4 percent in urban India (27.5 percent self-employed). Households, 20.6 percent other households) as of June 30, 2018.
NSO conducted the latest survey – All India Debt & Investment Survey – in January-December 2019 as part of the 77th round of the National Sample Survey (NSS).
Previously, the survey was conducted in the 26th round (1971-72), 37th round (1981-82), 48th round (1992), 59th round (2003) and 70th round (2013).
The report also found that in rural India, 17.8 percent of households were indebted only to institutional credit bureaus (21.2 percent of farmer households, 13.5 percent of households without farmers) versus 14.5 percent of urban households India (18 percent self-employed). Households, 13.3 percent other households).
About 10.2 percent of households in rural India are indebted to non-institutional credit agencies, compared with 4.9 percent of households in urban India, she added.
About 7 percent of households in rural India were indebted to both institutional and non-institutional credit bureaus versus 3 percent of households in urban India.
It also states that as of June 30, 2018, the average rural household debt was Rs 59,748 (Rs 74,460 for farmers, Rs 40,432 for households without farmers).
The average amount of debt was Rs 1.20.336 among urban households.
In rural India, institutional credit bureaus accounted for 66 percent of outstanding cash advances versus 34 percent for non-institutional credit bureaus.
In urban India, institutional credit agencies accounted for 87 percent of outstanding cash loans versus 13 percent for non-institutional credit agencies.
As of June 30, 2018, the average debt level on indebted households in rural India was Rs 1.70,533 (Rs 1.84.903 for farmers, Rs 1.43,557 for non-farmers).
The average amount of debt was Rs 5,36,861 among indebted households in urban India, it said.
Also Read: Urban India Unemployment Rate Declined To 10.3% In Q3 FY21: NSO Data
