Cabinet approves setting up ₹1 lakh-cr agri infra fund

News: Government of India has approved setting up of an agriculture infrastructure fund with a corpus of Rs 1 lakh crore.

Facts:

• Type: Central Sector Scheme.
• Aim: To provide a medium-long term debt financing for investment in viable projects for post-harvest management Infrastructure and community farming assets through interest subvention and financial support.
• Duration: The duration of the Scheme shall be from FY2020 to FY2029 (10 years).
• Coverage: The fund will provide loans to Primary Agricultural Credit Societies(PACS), Marketing Cooperative Societies, Farmer Producers Organizations(FPOs), Self Help Group(SHG), farmers, Joint Liability Groups (JLG) among others.
• Interest subvention: All loans will have interest subvention of 3% per annum up to a limit of ₹2 crore.This subvention will be available for a maximum period of seven years. 
• Credit Guarantee: Credit guarantee coverage will also 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 ₹2 crore.
• Monitoring: The National, State and District level Monitoring Committees will be set up to ensure real-time monitoring and effective feed-back.