India's top private lenders see farm loan defaults rising amid weak rural economy

Microfinance loan disbursal slowed in April-June due to general elections and heatwaves, Sumant Kathpalia, chief executive officer of IndusInd Bank said last week, adding that rural areas were still recovering from impact of the pandemic. More than 40% of India's 1.4 billion people are dependent on agriculture, which has been hit in recent years by rising temperatures, patchy monsoon rains and policy interventions.