Kisan Credit Card Scheme Highlights

Launch: 1998 (original), Revised 2020 with RuPay‑enabled card.
Credit Limits (2025‑26):
Crop loan limit raised to ₹5 lakh per farmer.
Fisheries & allied activities limit: ₹5 lakh.
Collateral‑free loan limit: ₹2 lakh per borrower.
Interest Subvention (MISS):
Nominal rate: 7% on short‑term crop loans up to ₹3 lakh.
Subvention: 3%, making effective rate 4%.
Outstanding Credit: ₹10.2 lakh crore across 7.72 crore active KCCs.
Bank Network: 457 commercial, regional rural and cooperative banks.
Digital Reforms: Integration with PM‑KISAN database, Kisan Rin Portal (2023), and RuPay card for digital transactions.

The scheme aims to address the chronic shortage of institutional credit to the agricultural sector, which traditionally relied on informal money‑lenders.
Modified Interest Subvention Scheme (MISS) introduced in FY 2006‑07 to make credit affordable and to provide relief during natural calamities.
Revised KCC (2020) consolidates multiple credit lines into a single, flexible, revolving credit facility, accessible through a digital card.

Financial Inclusion: Extends formal credit to marginal and land‑less farmers, tenant cultivators, SHGs, and JLGs.
Agricultural Productivity: Timely credit for inputs, post‑harvest activities, and allied sectors (animal husbandry, fisheries) boosts yields and income.
Risk Mitigation: Interest relief for up to one year (extendable to five years) during severe natural disasters reduces farmer distress.
Digital Governance: Use of RuPay and online portals aligns with Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan and promotes transparency and reduced processing time.
Fiscal Impact: Subvention cost borne by the government, but higher credit flow can improve rural consumption and tax base.

Article 46 of the Directive Principles of State Policy – promotion of the educational and economic interests of the weaker sections, especially the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes and other backward classes.
National Food Security Act, 2013 – ensures food security; KCC facilitates credit for crop production, indirectly supporting the Act.
RBI Guidelines on agricultural credit and priority sector lending (PSL) mandate banks to allocate a certain percentage of advances to agriculture.