Kisan credit card: 4 major changes in RBI’s draft KCC scheme every farmer must know

The Reserve Bank had announced in its Statement on Developmental and Regulatory Policies dated February 06, 2026, that revised guidelines on the Kisan Credit Card (KCC) are proposed to be issued. These guidelines will consolidate instructions relating to agriculture and allied activities, to expand coverage, streamlining operational aspects and addressing emerging requirements.

4 major changes in the Kisan Credit Card (KCC) scheme

1. To bring in uniformity in loan sanction and repayment schedules, crop seasons have been standardised in terms of months, i.e. short-duration crops (12 months) and long-duration crops (18 months).

2. To ensure proper dovetailing of loan tenure with crop seasons, especially for the longer duration crops, the tenure of KCC has been extended to 6 years.

3. To ensure that farmers receive adequate credit based on the actual cost of cultivation, drawing limits under KCC have been aligned with the scale of finance for each crop season.

4. To enable farmers to access finance for technological interventions such as soil testing, real-time weather forecasts and organic/good agricultural practices certification etc such expenses have been added as eligible components within 20% additional component towards repairs and maintenance of farm assets.

Accordingly, the following draft Directions are being issued for public comments.

• Commercial Banks – Kisan Credit Card (KCC) Scheme

• Regional Rural Banks - Kisan Credit Card (KCC) Scheme

• Rural Co-operative Banks - Kisan Credit Card (KCC) Scheme

How to submit feedback

The feedback on the draft Master Directions may be submitted by the regulated entities and members of the public/other stakeholders on or before March 6, 2026, through the following channels:

• the ‘Connect 2 Regulate’ section on the website by following the corresponding hyperlink provided against each document in the page where they are hosted; or

• by email with the subject line ‘Feedback on (full name of the draft Amendment Directions (including the type of Regulated Entity))’.