The interest rate on loan to be extended to the cooperatives of the weaker sections engaged in fisheries, dairy, poultry, handlooms and sericulture has been reduced from 14.25 per cent to 13.75 per cent. Similarly, the interest on loan assistance to all programmes in states where the cooperative movement is weak like Jammu & Kashmir, Bihar, northeastern states, West Bengal, Orissa, Rajasthan and Himachal Pradesh has been lowered from 14.25 per cent to 13.75 per cent. The interest on loan assistance to cooperatives for taking up computerisation programme has been lowered from 15 per cent to 13.75 per cent.

The interest on loan assistance up to Rs 25 crore for working capital needs for one year has been lowered from 15 per cent to 14 per cent. But for loan assistance of over Rs 25 crore for meeting working capital needs, the interest rate has been lowered to 13.75 per cent from the existing level of 15 per cent. The interest on loan assistance of other programmes has, however, been lowered to 14.50 per cent from the existing 15.50 per cent.

NCDC has already identified some potential like cooperative marketing, storage, horticulture, poultry, fishery and handlooms for loan assistance in the northeastern region. Programmes in the cooperative sector in these areas are being initiated in consultation with the concerned state governments and other organisations like the North-Eastern Council.

NCDC has formulated suitable schemes on bio-fertilisers, tissue culture, irrigation, water harvesting, seed multiplication and processing, rehabilitation and strengthening of primary agricultural cooperative societies (PACs), new cold storage scheme, margin money for sugar and spinning mills, total financing of investment loans in case of processing units and training and management. In the current year, NCDC has decided to disburse a loan amount of Rs 500 crore. In the previous year, it could disburse a total of Rs 462.52 crore out of the sanctioned amount of Rs 500 crore. The loan disbursement by NCDC since inception is Rs 5214.34 crore.Out of the total Rs 500 crore earmarked loan assistance for the year, Rs 291.26 crore will be sanctioned for NCDC-sponsored schemes, Rs 170.84 crore will be sanctioned for centrally-sponsored schemes under agriculture ministry, Rs 15 crore will be sanctioned for centrally sponsored schemes under textile ministry and Rs 22.90 crore will be sanctioned various on-going EECadided projects.

For marketing and inputs loan sanction will be Rs 73.59 crore, for integrated cooperative development projects the loan sanction will be Rs 80.54 crore, for cooperative sugar factories loan sanction will be Rs 133.29 crore, for cooperative spinning mills and powerlooms loan sanction will be Rs 26.64 crore, for oilseed project the loan sanction will be Rs 1.21 crore, for other processing units the loan sanction will be Rs 26.34 crore.