The poultry farming has been hit by bird flu due to which many poultry farmers have come under debts in view of loss of income and downfall in the demand of the poultry products and their prices. In order to provide relief to the ailing poultry industry hit by bird flu in certain parts of the country, the Reserve Bank on Tuesday issued a notification to the banks to reschedule payment of loans availed by the poultry units.
The central bank in a notification asked the banks to convert into term loans, the principal and interest on working capital loans.
Also, it has asked to convert the installments and interest on term loans into term loans.
The notification for the conversion is with reference to the loans which were to be repaid after the onset of bird flu, as on December 31, 2007.
The Reserve Bank further directed banks to recover converted loans in installments based on projected future inflows of the poultry units over a period of three years with an initial moratorium of one year.
The first year of repayment may be fixed after the expiry of the moratorium period, RBI said.
The apex bank instructed the banks to reschedule the remaining portion of term loans in a similar fashion with a moratorium period of one year depending upon the cash flow generating capacity of the unit.
The RBI added that the rescheduling of loan repayment should be completed on or before April 30 this year. The rescheduled loans will be treated as current dues after which the borrower will be eligible for fresh loans.
West Bengal has been particularly hit by the bird flu and preventive measures are also being carried out in the neighboring states of Bihar, Jharkhand, Assam and Orissa.
Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar has said that two packages will be announced to help the poultry industry and farmers.
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