Indian farmers driven to debt as banks turn risk-averse during coronavirus pandemic

Last month, Dnyaneshwar Siddhanth, a farmer from Maharashtra, was in desperate need of money to buy seed and fertilizer as the monsoon sowing season approached.

But after being rejected by his bank for a loan despite several attempts, Siddhanth finally borrowed 150,000 Indian rupees ($2,021) from a moneylender at a rate of 60% annually.

Amid India’s worst economic slowdown in decades due to the novel coronavirus pandemic, millions of farmers like Siddhanth are being shunned by banks as lenders turn cautious due to rising bad loans.