Audit Reports
Civil
Report No. 3 of 2013 - Performance Audit of Civil on Agricultural Debt Waiver and Debt Relief Scheme of Union Government, Ministry of Finance
Overview
The Agricultural Debt Waiver and Debt Relief Scheme (ADWDRS), 2008 was launched in May 2008 to address the problems and difficulties faced by the fanning community in repayment of loans taken by them and in helping them qualify for fresh loans. Under the scheme, complete waiver of 'eligible amount'1 was to be provided to Marginal2 /Small3 farmers while a one-time relief of 25 per cent of the 'eligible amount' was to be provided to Other4 farmers subject to payment of the balance 75 per cent of the 'eligible amount' by the farmer.
Agricultural loans meeting the following set of conditions were to be covered under the scheme: Loans disbursed between 1 April 1997 and 31 March 2007 and, Overdue as on 31 December 2007 and, Remaining unpaid upto 29 February 2008. The scheme was to be implemented by 30 June 2010. At the Government of India (Gol) level, the Department of Financial Services (DFS), Ministry of Finance, was the apex authority responsible for administration and implementation of the scheme.
This included preparation of guidelines, release of funds and overall monitoring. Reserve Bank of India (RBI) was the nodal agency for implementation and monitoring of the scheme for Scheduled Commercial Banks, Urban Cooperative Banks and Local Area Banks. National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) was similarly responsible for Cooperative Credit Institutions and Regional Rural Banks.