Bhubaneswar, July 2 -- Bhubaneswar: Odisha government on Thursday launched, 'Balaram Yojana' to provide crop loans to landless farmers. Under the new scheme the landless cultivators will get loans through joint liability groups (JLGs).

The scheme was announced in a meeting headed by the State Chief Secretary, Asit Kumar Tripathy. Under 'Balaram' scheme, the government has set a target to provide farm loans to 7 lakh landless farmers in next two years. It has set aside Rs 1,040 crore for the purpose.

IMAGE and Agricultural Technology Management Agencies (ATMA) will coordinate the implementation of the yojana at the State and the district levels, respectively. In rural and small towns, around 7,000 branches of several banks and Primary Ag...