Union Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare (MoA&FW) has launched a Rs.750 crore ‘Agri Fund for Start Ups and Rural Enterprises(AgriSURE)’ and Agri investment Portal named ‘KrishiNivesh’ at New Delhi, Delhi.
- He also conferred Agriculture Infrastructure Fund (AIF) Excellence Awards 2024 to the top-performing Banks and States under various categories in recognition of their outstanding efforts.
Key People: Union Ministers of State (MoS) Ram Nath Thakur and Bhagirath Choudhary, MoA & FW and Devesh Chaturvedi, Secretary of MoA&FW were present at the event.
About AgriSURE fund:
i.The AgriSURE fund will support startups and agripreneurs by providing both equity and debt capital.
ii.The Fund aims to invest in debt AIFs, direct equity investments in start-ups, sector-specific AIFs, and sector-agnostic AIFs.
iii.Of the 750 crores, the Government of India and National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) provided 250 crore each, and another 250 crore have to be raised from other institutions, including private investors.
iv.It is registered with Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) under the category of Category-II Alternative Investment Fund. NABVENTURES Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of NABARD, serves as the Investment Manager to the Fund.
About KrishiNivesh Portal:
i.KrishiNivesh Portal is a comprehensive platform designed to improve agribusinesses, attract investments, and increase farmers’ incomes.
ii.This portal would assist stakeholders, farmers, entrepreneurs, and industries, by providing easy access to information about various Central and state government schemes.
iii.It addresses the challenges in the agriculture sector and enhances the transparency and efficiency of the investment process.
iv.It aligns with the Digital Mission on Agriculture and the Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan, aiming to strengthen the agriculture and allied sectors.
About AIF Excellence Awards 2024:
i.Under the Agriculture Infra Fund (AIF), 13 banks have been awarded the AIF Excellence Award in 4 different categories.
ii.The State Bank of India (SBI) has been ranked first in BHARAT and RAPID category (from July 2023 to February 2024).
iii.Canara Bank received the second prize in BHARAT category in 2023-24.
iv.Punjab National Bank (PNB) received the award for being third in BHARAT category and second in RAPID category.
v.HDFC Bank Limited has received this award for being ranked second in the number of maximum approved projects in the BHARAT Campaign category and for being ranked third in sanctioning the RAPID category in 2024.
- It became the only public sector bank to win this award.
vi.In the Regional Rural Banks(RRBs) category, Baroda Rajasthan Kshetriya Grameen Bank(BRKGB), Punjab Grameen Bank(PGB), Baroda UP Grameen Bank, Maharashtra Grameen Bank(MGB) and Sarva Haryana Grameen Bank(SHGB) were recipients of awards for best performance.
- Apart from this, many other government and state rural banks were also honored.
vii.Madhya Pradesh (MP) has emerged as the top-performing state under the Rs 1 lakh crore Agriculture Infrastructure Fund (AIF) scheme, followed by Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh (UP), Punjab, and Rajasthan. These five states account for 50% of the total Rs 47,889 crore sanctioned under the AIF.
- MP topped with 9,331 sanctioned projects, totaling an investment of Rs 11,244 crore, with Rs 7,404 crore approved as credit at a subsidized interest rate under AIF Scheme.
- Maharashtra follows with 8,352 projects, entailing an investment of Rs 9,225 crore, of which Rs 5,195 crore has received credit approval.
- UP, Punjab, and Rajasthan have secured approvals for 5,753, 16,680, and 2,587 projects, respectively.
viii.As part of the event, the Agrisure Greenathon Awards were presented to innovative start-ups developing technology-focused solutions to address challenges faced by farmers.
- The start-ups, Greensapio, Krishi Kanti, and Ambronics were recognized as the winner, first runner-up, and second runner-up, respectively.
About AIF scheme:
i.The AIF scheme was launched in 2020 with Rs 1 lakh crore outlay. AIF provides loans at a 6% interest rate after a 3% subsidy by the Central Government.
ii.The scheme has facilitated the creation of 6,623 warehouses, 688 cold stores, and 21 silo projects, adding about 500 lakh tonnes of storage capacity across India.
iii.The AIF supports a wide range of infrastructure projects, including those for organic inputs, precision agriculture, farm automation, and advanced technologies, among others.
Recent related news:
On August 28 2024, the Union Cabinet, led by Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi, gave its approval for the expansion of the Central Sector (CS) Scheme for financing under the AIF. It is expected to improve productivity, increase farm incomes, and contribute to the overall sustainability of agriculture in India.
About the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare (MoA & FW):
Union Minister – Shivraj Singh Chouhan (Constituency – Vidisha, Madhya Pradesh, MP)
Minister of State (MoS) – Ram Nath Thakur(Rajya Sabha- Bihar); Bhagirath Choudhary (Constituency – Ajmer, Rajasthan)
