Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray on Monday urged the Centre to restore the 2 per cent interest subvention facility for farmers which was withdrawn last year, saying the measure was required to protect the interest of cultivators.

In a letter to Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar, Thackeray said a circular of the farm ministry and NABARD (National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development) earlier this year stated that the 2 per cent interest subvention scheme for short-term crop loan has been modified and it has been conveyed that the benefit of the subsidy will not be available from fiscal 2022-23.