Agri Minister Launches Portal for Faster AIF Claims

New Delhi, Jun 28 (PTI) Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Friday launched a web portal to speed up settlement of interest subvention claims of banks submitted under the Agriculture Infrastructure Fund (AIF) and highlighted that Rs 43,000 crore has been sanctioned so far under this scheme.

The Department of Agriculture and NABARD have jointly developed this web portal to automate and speed up settlement of claims under AIF, according to an official statement.

Minister of State for Agriculture Bhagirath Choudhary was also present during the launch.

Addressing the occasion, Chouhan said the Modi government is committed to increasing farmer's income by taking various measures.

He said the AIF was launched with Rs 1 lakh crore funding in a bid to increase storage capacity for crops and reduce losses for farmers.

Chouhan highlighted that investments worth Rs 72,000 crore have been mobilised with Rs 43,000 crore already sanctioned for 67,871 projects under the AIF till June 28.

The minister said the newly launched automation of credit claims will ensure timely settlement of claims within a day, which otherwise took months for manual settlement.

He said the move would also ensure transparency and check corrupt methods.

Chouhan informed that the automated system would help in calculating accurate eligible interest subvention through the portal avoiding the possible human error in manual processing and also help in faster settlement of the claims.

The portal would be used by banks, the Central Project Management Unit (CPMU) of the agriculture department and NABARD.

The automation of the interest subvention claim and credit guarantee fee claim processing will help the government in releasing accurate interest subvention and reduce the turnaround time.

In turn, this will help farmers and agri entrepreneurs financially and encourage them to take up more such projects for the development of agriculture in the country.

The AIF scheme was launched in 2020, with the objective of developing post-harvest management infrastructure for reducing losses, realisation of better value to farmers, innovation in agriculture and attracting investments for creation of agriculture infrastructure with a total outlay of Rs 1 lakh crore funding through the banks and financial institutions up to 2025-26.

The scheme provides for a 3 per cent interest subvention to beneficiaries of the scheme for loans given by banks up to Rs 2 crore for a maximum period of 7 years, besides reimbursement of credit guarantee fee paid by banks.

Chouhan also launched Krishi Katha, a blogsite meant to serve as a digital platform to showcase the voice of the Indian farmers, dedicated to amplifying the experiences, insights and success stories of farmers across the country.

He said the voices and stories of farmers often remain uncovered in the vast and diverse landscape of Indian agriculture.

"Krishi Katha" aims to provide a comprehensive and immersive storytelling space where the narratives of India's agricultural community can be shared and celebrated.

Chouhan highlighted that the launch of Krishi Katha is a significant move towards acknowledging and amplifying the voices of our farmers.