Review of Agriculture

THE government may feel that with the announcement of the decision earlier this month to open a 'soft loan window' by the IDBI to provide finance on concessional terms for replacement and modernisation of plant and equipment in five major industries, a cure has been found for 'sick' industrial units. On the face of it, the scheme is impressive enough. It covers the cotton textile, jute, sugar, cement and engineering industries and envisages the pumping in of Rs 200 crores in each of the next three years. The loans will be at 7.5 per cent per annum rate of interest, compared to the IDBI's normal rate of 11 per cent for direct loans to industrial units, and will be repayable over 12 to 15 years.