The government on Monday allowed farmers to purchase seeds with the old ₹500 bank notes, declared illegal less than two weeks ago by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The new rule allows farmers to purchase seeds with old denomination bank notes of ₹ 500 from outlets belonging to the central or state governments, PSUs, national or state seeds corporations, central or state agricultural universities and the Indian Council of Agricultural Research.
The revised rule, intended to help farmers for the current Rabi crop, says seeds can be purchased from the above locations on production of a proof of identity.
“This is in addition to the decision taken earlier for making cash available with the farmers by permitting them to draw up to ₹25,000 per week from their KYC compliant accounts subject to the normal loan limits and conditions apart from the other facilities announced on Nov 17,” the notification issued on Monday said.
“The government is committed to ensure that the farmers are suitably facilitated during the Rabi season,” it adds.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, who is trying to stitch up a rainbow coalition against demonetisation, asked the Centre to come up with a proper plan of action instead of “announcing new changes” everyday. “The lower middle class, traders, daily wagers, housewives are the worst sufferers,” she said.
Meanwhile, the Reserve Bank relaxed norms on cash withdrawals. It said that overdraft and cash credit account holders can now withdraw up to ₹50,000 in a week. Earlier, current account holders were allowed to withdraw up to ₹50,000 in cash, in a week. “On a review, it has been decided to extend this facility to Overdraft and Cash Credit accounts also,” the central bank said.
