The Kisan Credit Card (KCC) is a bank credit facility that gives farmers timely, low-cost working capital for cultivation, allied activities like dairy and fisheries, and household needs, so they do not have to depend on informal moneylenders.
Key Benefits
- Low effective interest: short-term crop loans carry an interest subvention from the government, and farmers who repay on time earn an additional prompt-repayment incentive, bringing the effective rate down to around 4% per annum on eligible amounts.
- Collateral relaxation: banks generally do not ask for collateral on smaller KCC limits as per RBI norms.
- Flexible use: the limit covers seeds, fertiliser, pesticide, fuel, post-harvest expenses and allied activities such as animal husbandry and fisheries.
- Built-in cover: KCC holders can get personal accident insurance and their notified crops can be insured under crop insurance.
- RuPay card: the limit is operated through a RuPay debit card usable at ATMs and merchant points.
Loan Limit
The limit is fixed by the bank based on your cropping pattern, acreage and scale of finance. The concessional interest subvention window that traditionally applied up to ₹3 lakh was proposed to be enhanced to ₹5 lakh in the Union Budget 2025; since these numbers are revised by the government, confirm the current ceiling with your bank before applying.
Who Can Apply?
- Owner-cultivator farmers (individual or joint).
- Tenant farmers, oral lessees and sharecroppers.
- Self-help groups or joint liability groups of farmers.
- Farmers engaged in allied activities such as dairy, poultry and inland fisheries.
Documents Required
- Filled application form (available at any bank branch)
- Identity proof: Aadhaar, PAN, voter ID or driving licence
- Address proof
- Land record / cultivation proof
- Passport-size photographs
How to Apply
- Visit any commercial bank, regional rural bank or cooperative bank branch near you, or apply through the bank’s website if it offers online KCC application.
- Submit the one-page KCC form with your land and crop details.
- The bank verifies your records and sanctions a credit limit based on your scale of finance.
- Collect your KCC-linked RuPay card and start drawing as per your crop cycle.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is KCC only for crop farming? No. Separate limits can be sanctioned for dairy, poultry and fisheries under KCC for allied activities.
Does KCC affect my PM Kisan benefit? No, both are independent. In fact, PM Kisan beneficiaries are often fast-tracked for KCC through saturation drives.
Note: Interest subvention rates, limits and collateral norms are revised periodically by the RBI and the government. Confirm current terms at your bank branch.