Question

“Credit can play a negative role.” Justify the statement with arguments.

Answer 1

Swapna, a small farmer, grows groundnut on her three acres of land. She takes a loan from the moneylender to meet the expenses of cultivation, hoping that her harvest would help repay the loan. Midway through the season the crop is hit by pests and the crop fails. Though Swapna sprays her crops with expensive pesticides, it makes little difference. She is unable to repay the moneylender and the debtgrows over the year into a large amount. Next year, Swapna takes a fresh loan for cultivation. It is a normal crop this year. But the earnings are not enough to cover the old loan. She is caught in debt. She has to sell a part of the land to pay off the debt.

     Credit in this case pushes the borrower into a situation from which recovery is very painful.