12 Jul 2021 Agriculture Infrastructure Fund

Agriculture Infrastructure Fund

Context:

Recently, the Union Cabinet approved some modifications in the Central Sector Scheme of Financing Facility under ‘Agriculture Infrastructure Fund’.

About

Agriculture Infrastructure Fund

Launch: It was launched in 2020 as a part of the Rs. 20 lakh crore stimulus package announced in response to the Covid-19 crisis.

Aim:

To provide medium-long term debt financing facility for investment in viable projects for post-harvest management Infrastructure and community farming assets.The funds will be provided for setting up of cold stores and chains, warehousing, grading and packaging units, e-marketing points linked to e-trading platforms, besides PPP (Public Private Partnership) projects for crop aggregation sponsored by central/state/local bodies.

Duration: Extended to 13 years upto 2032-33.

Features:

Eligible Beneficiaries:

They are Farmers, Farmer Producer Organizations (FPOs), Primary Agricultural Credit Society (PACS), Marketing Cooperative Societies, Self Help Groups (SHGs), Joint Liability Groups (JLG), Multipurpose Cooperative Societies, Agri-entrepreneurs, Start-ups, and Central/State agency or Local Body sponsored PPP Projects.
Eligibility has been extended to State agencies and Agricultural Produce Marketing Committees (APMCs), as well as federations of cooperative organisations, FPOs and SHGs.

Financial Support: Rs. 1 Lakh Crore will be provided by banks and financial institutions as loans to eligible beneficiaries.
Moratorium for repayment may vary subject to minimum of 6 months and maximum of 2 years.

Interest Subvention: Loans will have interest subvention of 3% per annum up to a limit of Rs. 2 crore. This subvention will be available for a maximum period of seven years.
CGTMSE Scheme: A credit guarantee coverage will be available for eligible borrowers from this financing facility under Credit Guarantee Fund Trust for Micro and Small Enterprises (CGTMSE) scheme for a loan up to Rs. 2 crore.
Management: The fund will be managed and monitored through an online Management Information System (MIS) platform. It will enable all the qualified entities to apply for loans under the Fund.
The National, State and District level monitoring committees will be set up to ensure real-time monitoring and effective feed-back.

rahul123

Yojna IAS Current Affairs Team