Thalapathy Vijay announces loan waiver for 1.44 million farmers

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and actor Thalapathy Vijay has announced an expansion of the state’s farm-loan waiver scheme, bringing relief to nearly 1.44 million marginal, small and other farmers.

Under the revised scheme, the loan-waiver ceiling has been raised from ₹50,000 to ₹75,000. Vijay announced the decision in the state Assembly on Monday (August 17).

As part of the expanded waiver, 238,264 farmers with cooperative farm loans between ₹75,000 and ₹100,000 will receive additional relief of up to ₹40,000. The move will cost the state government an estimated ₹9.53 billion in additional expenditure.

Overall, around 1.444 million farmers will benefit from the scheme, with the Tamil Nadu government’s total expenditure expected to reach about ₹62.2 billion.

Vijay said the government began revising the loan-waiver rules on June 19 following demands from farmers and was prepared to shoulder the additional financial burden for their welfare.

He also said the government previously reimbursed cooperative banks for waived loans in instalments over several years. Under a 2025 directive from the Reserve Bank of India, however, the state must now settle the full waiver amount with the banks within 45 to 60 days.