Tamil Nadu Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay has announced a major crop loan waiver scheme aimed at providing relief to farmers who borrowed through cooperative banks. The decision was taken after a high level review meeting chaired by the Chief Minister at the State Secretariat.
Under the scheme, marginal farmers with cooperative bank crop loans of up to ₹50,000 will receive a complete loan waiver. The State government said the measure is expected to reduce the financial burden on farmers and help them access fresh crop loans for the upcoming agricultural season.
Speaking to reporters, TVK leader and Tamil Nadu minister CTR Nirmalkumar said, “Around 1,692,000 farmers have got agricultural loans, out of which 1,422,000 farmers' loans have been waived off today. This was one of our election promises...”
The waiver will apply to crop loans taken between May 1, 2025, and February 28, 2026. Officials said around 14.22 lakh farmers are expected to benefit from the scheme, which will cost the government about ₹2,044 crore.
According to the government announcement, farmers with loans between ₹50,001 and ₹60,000 will receive a waiver of ₹40,000. Those with loans between ₹60,001 and ₹70,000 will get ₹30,000 waived, while farmers with loans between ₹70,001 and ₹80,000 will receive relief of ₹20,000. For loans between ₹80,001 and ₹1 lakh, the waiver amount has been fixed at ₹10,000. Farmers with crop loans above ₹1 lakh will receive a waiver of ₹5,000.
The government said the scheme was designed after considering the State’s financial position and the Reserve Bank of India’s operational guidelines on loan waiver programmes.
However, some farmers have expressed disappointment, pointing out that the ruling Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) had promised a broader farm loan waiver during the election campaign. The party’s manifesto had reportedly assured a complete waiver for farmers owning up to five acres of land. Farmer groups have urged the government to implement the waiver more uniformly across different categories of farmers.
In a separate decision, the Tamil Nadu government also approved five screenings a day for newly released Tamil films for one week after their release. The government further said that theatres would be allowed to hold one additional special show on local festival days and public holidays following requests from representatives of the film industry.
Referring to the five film shows at movie halls, a post from the Chief Minister's official X handle read, “On 16.05.2026, representatives of the film industry met the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, S. Joseph Vijay, and submitted various requests. One of their key demands was to permit all theatres across Tamil Nadu to screen five shows per day for all films".
