On August 9, 2020, Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the Central Sector Scheme (CSS) of financing facility under the Agriculture Infrastructure Fund of Rs. 1 lakh crore via video conferencing. In this regard, the first sanction of over Rs. 1000 Crore was made to over 2,280 farmer societies. The duration of the scheme is 10 years i.e. from FY2020 to FY2029.
- Notably, Rs. 1 Lakh Crore will be sanctioned in partnership with multiple lending institutions; 11 of the 12 Public Sector Banks have already signed MOUs with the Department of Agriculture Cooperation and Farmers Welfare (DAC&FW).
- Participants: This webinar was attended by Union Minister of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare, Shri Narendra Singh Tomar along with lakhs of farmers, FPOs, cooperatives, PACS, and citizens joining from across the country.
Key Points of Rs. 1 lakh crore financing facility:
–Fund Usage: This fund will be used towards creation of post-harvest management infrastructure and community farming assets such as cold storage, collection centres, processing units, etc. These assets will enable farmers to get greater value for their produce, reduce wastage, and increase processing.
–Beneficiaries: Farmers, Primary Agricultural Credit Society (PACS), Marketing Cooperative Societies, Farmer Producer Organizations (FPOs), Self Help Groups (SHGs), Joint Liability Groups (JLG), Multipurpose Cooperative Societies, Agri-entrepreneurs, Startups, and Central/State agency or Local Body sponsored Public-Private Partnership Projects.
–Interest subvention – A 3% interest subvention and credit guarantee under Credit Guarantee Fund Trust for Micro and Small Enterprises (CGTMSE) scheme for loans up to Rs 2 Crore will be provided to the beneficiaries to increase the viability of these projects.
–Rs. 17000 Crore transferred to nearly 8.5 Crore farmers under PM-KISAN as 6th installment
PM Narendra Modi also released the 6th instalment of funds of Rs. 17,000 crore to 8.5 crore farmers under the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi Yojna (PM-KISAN) scheme. With this transfer, the scheme has provided over 90,000 Crore to 10 Crore farmers since its launch on 01 December 2018.
- The scheme has also been instrumental 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.
About Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi Yojna (PM-KISAN):
PM-KISAN is CSS under which an income support of Rs 6000/- per year in three equal installments is provided to all farmer families irrespective of the size of their landholdings.
Recent Related News:
On April 22, 2020 Indian Overseas Bank (IOB) has launched Working Capital demand Loan for agriculture sector (WCDL-Agri), a special credit facility for the agriculture sector & allied activities as a relief measure to fight the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
