<p style="text-align: left;"><img style="max-width: 100%; height: 209px; float: right;" src="https://static.vikaspedia.in/mediastorage/filestorage/20251002235552_Copilot_20251002_234337(1)(1).png" alt="Uploaded Image" width="314">Once there was a farmer who was desperately in need of money. He went to the zamindar of the village and asked him for a loan of <strong>₹1,00,000.</strong></p> <p style="text-align: left;">The zamindar asked if the farmer could provide land or jewellery as collateral so that he could lend money against it. The farmer agreed to keep his house as collateral and borrowed the money.</p> <p style="text-align: left;">The zamindar gave him a loan of ₹1,00,000 at an interest rate of 12% per annum. He told the farmer that the loan must be repaid in 20 years through a monthly EMI of ₹1,101.</p> <p style="text-align: left;">The farmer, however, pleaded with the zamindar to reduce the EMI, as he could not afford to pay ₹1,101 every month. He said he could only manage ₹1,000 per month and requested the zamindar to reduce his monthly installment and extend the loan tenure.</p> <p style="text-align: left;">The zamindar, happy with the arrangement, agreed. The farmer too felt relieved, thinking that the repayment period would at most increase by 10 more years.</p> <p style="text-align: left;"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>But what the farmer did not realize was this:</strong></span></p> <ul> <li style="text-align: left;">At 12% interest, the annual interest on ₹1,00,000 is ₹12,000.</li> <li style="text-align: left;">By paying ₹1,000 per month = ₹12,000 per year, the farmer was only covering the interest.<br>This meant he was never reducing the principal amount of ₹1,00,000. So, in reality, the farmer could never repay the loan, no matter how many years passed. He remained indebted for his entire life, and the burden of repayment was carried on by his future generations. The farmer never got back his home, and the zamindar kept receiving ₹1,000 per month forever.</li> </ul> <p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: rgb(53, 152, 219);"><strong>"Debt delayed is freedom denied"</strong></span></p>