Modi govt committed to agriculture, farmers' prosperity: Amit Shah

Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Thursday welcomed Prime Minister Narendra Modi's decision to approve modifications in the Central Sector Scheme of financing facility under the Agriculture Infrastructure Fund and said the central government is committed to agriculture and farmers' prosperity.

The decision was taken at the first cabinet meeting on Thursday after the expansion of the cabinet.

"This decision of will be of great help to cooperative markets to strengthen their infrastructure, for this, on behalf of all the people associated with the agriculture and cooperative sector, I heartily congratulate Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The Modi government is committed to agriculture and the prosperity of farmers," said Shah.

Shah said this decision is a reflection of the resolve of the Modi government to further strengthen the APMC system. This decision will not only further empower the APMCs but will also increase employment opportunities and benefit more and more people.

This decision included State Agencies/APMCs, National and State Federations of Cooperatives, Self Help Groups (SHGs) and Federation of Farmers Producers Organizations (FPOs) in in the 'Agriculture Infrastructure Fund' and also extended the interest subvention scheme and a guarantee for a loan upto Rs 2 crore for each project for a maximum of 25 projects.

With the approval for APMC in the same market premises for various infrastructure projects, it will also provide interest subvention on loans up to Rs. 2 crore for different infrastructure projects such as cold storages, sorting, grading and evaluation units, silos etc.

With this decision, the inclusion of State Agencies/APMCs, National and State Federations of Cooperatives, Self Help Groups (SHGs) and Federation of Farmers Producers Organizations (FPOs) will bring more investment in the agricultural infrastructure sector, which will also generate employment. This decision is a positive step of the Modi government towards making the agriculture sector self-reliant.

So far, loans up to Rs 2 crore at one place were eligible for interest subvention under the Agriculture Infrastructure Fund Scheme. Now if an eligible entity takes up projects in different locations, all such projects will be eligible for interest subvention for loans up to Rs 2 crore. However, there will be a maximum limit of 25 such projects.

( With inputs from ANI )