The most celebrated and loved loan product of all times, the Gold Loan, is not just a loan product but is a life saviour of many. As RBI is the lender of last resort of Banks, Gold loans are the loans of first resort for almost everyone. Most of the Indian banks and NBFCs (Non-Banking Financial corporations ) offer gold loans for farmers to enable them with numerous agricultural and related activities. These activities consist of buying land, purchasing tools or machinery for irrigation of fields or digging wells, purchasing raw materials, crop cultivation, improving stock and much more.
The agriculture gold loans given by financial institutions begin at an interest rate of 7.00% per annum. Agriculture Gold Loan Interest Rates, income Eligibility, repayment structure, repayment period, fee & charges vary from one institution to another.
Most of the time, banks and NBFCs offer interest rates with concessions to the farmers on their normal gold loan schemes for agricultural requirements. On the other hand, other financial organizations have a separate scheme for agriculture gold loans which is commonly termed as Agri Gold Loans. Use Gold loan calculators to know your gold loan rate per gram by different lenders like Manappuram Gold Loan Rate per Gram etc.
A few important details related to Agriculture Gold loans
- The amount is given as a Loan : Any loan amount from 1,000 rupees to 10 crores* rupees
- Interest Rate: Starting from 7.00% per annum
- Repayment types: EMI, lump sum or as per lenders conditions
- Gold Items recognized : Gold jewellery after proper verification for quality and quantity
- Term : Starts from 1 month. Maximum is 36 months
- Processing Fee : 0 -1% of the loan amount
Eligibility Criteria :
- The borrower should be completing the KYC procedures as called for by the lender
- Age Eligibility: Minimum 18 years of age and maximum 65 years of age
- Borrowers must be engaged in activities directly related to agriculture or agriculture itself.
- Borrowers who are engaged in activities allowed by the Government of India / Reserve Bank of India to be categorized under the agriculture sector
Documents Required
- Timely filled in the application form with passport-sized pictures
- KYC Documents of the Borrower such as Voter’s ID card, Aadhaar Card, Driving License, PAN Card, Bills such as Water Bill and Electricity Bill
- Proof of Borrower-owned agricultural land
- Proof that crop is being cultivated there
- Business Incorporation Certificate
Any other document requested by the money lender
Agricultural Gold Loans are extremely helpful for the farmers as in the case of other loans, the interest rate is too high and they often ask the landholdings of the farmer to be kept as security. In case the farmer is unable to pay back the loan amount, the landholding is seized and sold off to get their losses compensated.
The poor farmer then is left with no source to make a livelihood.
I'm a case of an Agri Gold loan, the jewellery is kept as security and in case the farmer is unable to pay back the loan, the Gold would be seized and sold off. This would still be unfortunate but at least would not snatch away from them the only source of income they have.
Also, the rates of interest on Agriculture Gold loans are far less than other loan products. Even the other charges such as processing charges are negligible.
They can mortgage their ancestral jewellery which shows its face only during special occasions and put it to far better use.
If unfortunately, you are not qualified for the Agriculture Gold Loans of any of the Banks or any Non-Banking Financial Corporations, you might be interested in other alternatives to fund your financial requirements for agricultural activities, you can also go for Kisan Credit Card (KCC).
A Kisan Credit Card (KCC) is a Government of India scheme which has been launched to protect farmers from high-interest rates that money lenders from the unorganised sector mostly charge from them. Under this scheme, the interest rate can be very low, as low as 2%.
Moreover, the repayment time is established on the harvesting or transaction period of the crop for which the loan amount was taken. Banks such as Axis, SBI, PNB etc. provide Kisan Credit Card service. A thing to note here is that the terms and conditions of different Banks and different NBFCs differ so it's better to get in touch with a company that provides financial consulting regarding different banks, different NBFCs and the Loan products they offer plus their key takeaways.