भारत सरकार
Kisan Credit Card (KCC) to Fishers & Fish Farmers
In the year 2018-19, Government of India extended the facility of the Kisan Credit Card (KCC) to the fish farmers and fishers to help them to meet their working capital requirements. Reserve Bank of India, vide its circular FIDD.CO.FSD. BC.12/05.05.010/2018-19 dated February 04, 2019 issued the guidelines for issuance of KCC for fisheries, which was subsequently modified with a revised circular dated 18th May 2022 as follows.
Eligible Fish Farmers
Inland Fisheries and Aquaculture: Fishers, Fish Farmers (individual & groups/partners/share croppers/ tenant farmers), Self Help Groups, Joint Liability Groups and Women groups. The beneficiaries must own or lease any fisheries related assets such as pond, tank, open water bodies, raceway, hatchery, rearing units, boats, nets and such other fishing gear as the case may be and possess necessary authorization/certification as may be applicable in respective states for fish farming and fishing related activities and for any other State specific fisheries and allied activities.
Marine Fisheries: Beneficiaries, who own or lease registered fishing vessel /boat, possess necessary fishing license/permission for fishing in estuary and sea, fish fanning/mariculture activities in estuaries and open sea and any other State specific fisheries and allied activities.
Inland Fisheries and Aquaculture: Fishers, Fish Farmers (individual & groups/partners/share croppers/ tenant farmers), Self Help Groups, Joint Liability Groups and Women groups. The beneficiaries must own or lease any fisheries related assets such as pond, tank, open water bodies, raceway, hatchery, rearing units, boats, nets and such other fishing gear as the case may be and possess necessary authorization/certification as may be applicable in respective states for fish farming and fishing related activities and for any other State specific fisheries and allied activities.
Marine Fisheries: Beneficiaries, who own or lease registered fishing vessel /boat, possess necessary fishing license/permission for fishing in estuary and sea, fish fanning/mariculture activities in estuaries and open sea and any other State specific fisheries and allied activities.
Under this scheme, farmers receive KCC loans at a subsidized interest rate of 7%. To facilitate this, an up-front interest subvention (IS) of 1.5% is provided to financial institutions by the Govt. of India. Additionally, farmers who repay their loans promptly on time receive a 3% Prompt Repayment Incentive (PRI), effectively reducing the interest rate to 4% per annum. The benefits of IS and PRI are available for loan limits up to Rs.3 lakhs. However, if the short-term loan is taken for allied activities (other than crop husbandry such as Fisheries and Animal Husbandry), the loan amount is limited to Rs.2 lakhs only. Collateral free loan limit for KCC fisheries is raised from Rs.1.60 lakh to Rs.2.00Lakh from 01.01.2025 (as per the RBI circular dated 06.12.2024). .
Current Status:
India is the third largest fish producing country in the world and accounts for 9.64 percent of the global production. The total fish production during FY 2022-23 is estimated at 17.54MMT with a contribution of 13.11 MMT from Inland sector and 4.43 MMT from Marine sector. The annual average growth rate in the Fisheries sector has been 6.7% over the last five years. India is also a major producer of fish through Aquaculture and ranks second in the world after China. Inland fish production constitutes about 75 percent of the total fish production of the country.
India is the third largest fish producing country in the world and accounts for 9.64 percent of the global production. The total fish production during FY 2022-23 is estimated at 17.54MMT with a contribution of 13.11 MMT from Inland sector and 4.43 MMT from Marine sector. The annual average growth rate in the Fisheries sector has been 6.7% over the last five years. India is also a major producer of fish through Aquaculture and ranks second in the world after China. Inland fish production constitutes about 75 percent of the total fish production of the country.
The total progress of issuance of KCCs as on 17.01.2025 (Source-DFS)
Total No. of Fisheries KCC Applications
| Received | Sanctioned | Overall Pending | Rejected | Sanctioned Amount |
| 6,44,529 | 4,50,799 | 18,337 | 1,75,393 | Rs. 2898.00 crore |
