Although around 60 per cent of households take loans from financial institutions, the average amount of loan from non-institution is more than double than any financial institution. Gujarat, Maharashtra, Telangana, Jammu and Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh are the most indebted households.Īround one-third of total households take loan from money lenders and other non-financial institutions. The survey shows that 41 per cent of rural households are indebted, of which majority (43 per cent) are agriculture households. While cultivation is still a major source of income (35 per cent), followed by daily wage labourer (34 per cent), livestock rearing contributes only 8 per cent of their income. It was conducted in more than 40,000 households from 245 districts in 29 states. Launched in 2016-17, NAFIS is a national level survey that offers a comprehensive overview of the rural population in terms of their status of livelihoods and level of financial inclusion. This income would actually be lesser if food inflation is included. This is calculated by comparing the NABARD report with a 2012-13 study by the National Sample Survey Organization (NSSO), another government body that estimated the average monthly income of farm household at Rs 6,426. What is shocking is that in the past four years, the income of a farm household has increased by just Rs 2,505/month. Apart from a paltry income, farmers are facing rising indebtedness, lesser financial inclusion, and absence of insurance facility, according to the report. The NABARD All India Rural Financial Inclusion Survey (NAFIS) shows that average agriculture household income was a mere Rs 8,931 per month in 2016-17. A latest report by the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD), a government agency, again, shows the vulnerability of Indian agriculture households.