The Union Cabinet, under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has approved the expansion of the Central Sector Scheme under the Agriculture Infrastructure Fund (AIF). This initiative is designed to strengthen agricultural infrastructure, making the scheme more comprehensive and impactful.
Key enhancements include expanding the range of eligible projects to encompass integrated primary and secondary processing activities, and allowing the integration of PM-KUSUM’s Component-A with the AIF.
Additionally, the AIF credit guarantee will be extended to Farmer Producer Organizations (FPOs) through NABSanrakshan Trustee Company Pvt. Ltd.
Since its inception in 2020, the AIF has played a pivotal role in establishing storage facilities, including 6,623 warehouses and 688 cold stores, resulting in an additional storage capacity of 500 LMT. The scheme has attracted over ?78,000 crore in investments and created over 8.19 lakh rural jobs.
The expanded AIF scheme is expected to further boost agricultural productivity, enhance farm incomes, and support sustainable farming practices across India.
