OdishaPlus Bureau
Prime Minister Narendra Modi is all set to launch the financing facility of Rs 1 lakh crore under the Agriculture Infrastructure Fund on Sunday. PM Modi will also release the sixth installment of funds of Rs 17,000 crore to 8.5 crore farmers under the PM-KISAN scheme.
The launch will be done around 11 a.m. via video conferencing and the occasion will be witnessed by lakhs of farmers, cooperatives, and citizens across the country. Union Minister of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare, Narendra Singh Tomar, will also be present on the occasion.
The Union Cabinet has approved the Central Sector Scheme of financing facility under “Agriculture Infrastructure Fund” of Rs 1 lakh crore. The fund will catalyse the creation of post-harvest management infrastructure and community farming assets such as cold storage, collection centres, processing units. These assets will enable farmers to get greater value for their produce, as they will be able to store and sell at higher prices, reduce wastage, and increase processing and value addition.
11 of the 12 Public Sector Banks have already signed MOUs with the Department of Agriculture Cooperation and Farmers Welfare (DAC&FW). A 3% interest subvention and credit guarantee of up to Rs 2 crore will be provided to the beneficiaries to increase the viability of these projects.
The beneficiaries of the scheme will include farmers, Picture Archiving and Communication System (PACS), Marketing Cooperative Societies, Farmer Producer Organization Scheme (FPOs), Self Help Groups (SHGs), Joint Liability Groups (JLG), Multipurpose Cooperative Societies, Agri-entrepreneurs, startups, and Central or state agency or local body sponsored Public-Private Partnership Projects.
The Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi Yojna (PM-KISAN) scheme, launched on December 1, 2018 has provided a direct cash benefit of over Rs 75,000 crore to more than 9.9 crore farmers. This has enabled them to fulfil their agricultural requirements and support their families.
The roll out and implementation of the PM-KISAN scheme has happened at an unparalleled pace, with funds being directly transferred into the Aadhaar authenticated beneficiaries’ bank account to prevent leakage and increase convenience for farmers. The scheme has also been beneficial in supporting farmers during the Covid-19 pandemic, through the release of nearly Rs 22,000 crore to aid the farmers during the lockdown period.
