Which of the following State Governments has started the 'Pashu-Kisan Credit Card' Scheme in the year 2020?
- (a)Gujarat
- (b)Haryana
- (c)Punjab
- (d)Rajasthan
Correct — (b) Haryana. Haryana became the first state to roll out the Pashu Kisan Credit Card in 2020 (championed by Agriculture & Animal Husbandry Minister J.P. Dalal). It extends KCC-style institutional credit to livestock owners — a fixed loan per animal (about Rs 40,000 per cow and Rs 60,000 per buffalo, released in monthly instalments) at an effectively near-zero rate after interest subvention — to cut dairy farmers' dependence on moneylenders.
- (a)Gujarat — Gujarat has a large dairy/cooperative sector (Amul) but did not launch the 'Pashu Kisan Credit Card' scheme in 2020; the initiative is Haryana's.
- (c)Punjab — Punjab was not the state that introduced this dedicated livestock credit-card scheme in 2020.
- (d)Rajasthan — Rajasthan is a major livestock state but is not associated with launching the Pashu Kisan Credit Card in 2020; Haryana pioneered it.
The Kisan Credit Card (KCC) gives farmers short-term, low-interest institutional credit. The Pashu Kisan Credit Card is a Haryana extension of that idea to animal husbandry, giving cattle/buffalo/sheep/goat/poultry owners a per-animal credit limit so they can meet fodder and upkeep costs without informal loans.
The word 'Pashu' (animal) plus 'Credit Card' points to a livestock-finance scheme; among the options, Haryana — with its Murrah-buffalo dairy economy and a push to raise farmers' income — is the state that first operationalised it in 2020.
- Haryana launched the Pashu Kisan Credit Card in 2020, the first state in India to do so.
- It brings livestock owners under the KCC umbrella — credit per animal (about Rs 40,783 per cow, Rs 60,249 per buffalo per official figures), renewed annually.
- After the Centre's interest subvention on timely repayment, the effective interest works out close to zero for the borrower.
- Aim: reduce dependence on moneylenders and support dairy/animal-husbandry incomes.
- Assuming a big dairy state like Gujarat (Amul) must be the answer — the scheme is Haryana's.
- Confusing the Pashu KCC with the general KCC or with the PM-KISAN cash transfer.
UPPSC often tests 'which state launched scheme X' current-affairs items; UPSC tends to test the scheme's design (what KCC credit can and cannot be used for).
Under the 'Kisan Credit Card' scheme, for which of the following purposes can farmers avail of short-term credit support? 1. Working capital for maintenance of farm assets 2. Purchase of farm machinery, tractors and mini-tools 3. Consumption requirements of farm households 4. Post-harvest expenses 5. Construction of a house for the family and setting up of cold storage facilities in the village
- (a) 1, 2 and 5 only
- (b) 1, 3 and 4 only
- (c) 2, 3, 4 and 5 only
- (d) 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5
Answer(b) 1, 3 and 4 only
Same instrument — the Kisan Credit Card that the Pashu KCC extends to livestock; tests what short-term KCC credit covers.
- practice — not a real PYQ
The 'Pashu Kisan Credit Card', launched in 2020, was primarily aimed at which group?
- (a)Fishermen
- (b)Livestock and dairy owners
- (c)Landless labourers
- (d)Horticulture growers
Answer(b) Livestock and dairy owners — it extends KCC credit to cattle/buffalo/poultry rearers.
- practice — not a real PYQ
The Pashu Kisan Credit Card is essentially an extension of which existing credit instrument?
- (a)Mudra loan
- (b)Kisan Credit Card
- (c)Stand-Up India loan
- (d)Gold loan
Answer(b) Kisan Credit Card — it brings animal husbandry under the KCC short-term credit framework.