CHENNAI: Tamil Nadu has emerged as the State with the highest outstanding agricultural loans in the country, with farmers owing Rs 3,44,996 crore to public sector banks as of March 31, 2026, the Union government informed Parliament on Monday.
The disclosure came in a written reply by Union Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary to a set of questions raised by VCK Villupuram MP D Ravikumar, who sought details on farm loan waivers, the debt burden on farmers and the Centre's plans to provide relief to small and marginal cultivators.
Reacting to the reply, Ravikumar, on a social media post, accused the Union government of adopting a double standard on debt relief. He alleged that while corporate loans worth more than Rs 12 lakh crore had been written off, the Centre had refused to extend similar relief to farmers despite Tamil Nadu recording the highest outstanding agricultural debt in the country.
Ravikumar had asked whether the Centre had considered farmers' demand for waiving loans availed from nationalised banks in view of the agrarian crisis and mounting indebtedness. He also pointed out that while several state governments, including Tamil Nadu, had waived cooperative crop loans, no similar relief had been extended to crop loans taken from public sector banks.
In its reply, the Centre said the Reserve Bank of India had already put in place a framework for restructuring stressed loans through the Master Directions on Resolution of Stressed Assets, 2025, issued on November 28, 2025, and updated on July 1, 2026. The framework allows banks to restructure eligible loans in accordance with board-approved policies.
The government further said the Tamil Nadu State Level Bankers' Committee (SLBC) had reported that no crop loan waiver had been granted for loans outstanding with public sector banks in the State during the last three financial years.
State-wise data furnished by the finance ministry, based on information reported by banks on NABARD's ENSURE portal, showed that Tamil Nadu topped the country with outstanding agricultural loans of Rs 3,44,996.64 crore as of March 31, 2026.
The Centre also ruled out any immediate relief, stating that there was no proposal under consideration for a one-time waiver of loans availed by small and marginal farmers.