RBI Norms Won't Affect Disbursement of Gold Loans in Coop Societies

While the Reserve Bank of India's (RBI) draft guidelines on gold loans have faced stiff opposition from a section of political parties and farmers' associations, the State Cooperative department on Thursday clarified that crop loans provided after taking gold as collateral through 4,456 Primary Agriculture Cooperative Credit Societies (PACCS) will continue as usual since these institutions are not governed by the RBI.

- B ANBUSELVAN @Chennai

These 4,456 PACCS, which operate through 225 branches and serve 12,620 village panchayats, extend credit to local residents for both agricultural and non-agricultural purposes. For the financial year 2024-25, PACCS disbursed loans amounting to ₹15,692 crore to 17,37,460 farmers, according to official data shared by the department.