Mandis now eligible for credit under the AIF

Union Cabinet has approved the inclusion the expansion of the beneficiary institutions in the guidelines of Agriculture Infrastructure Fund (AIF). After this, the mandis i.e., Agriculture Product Market Committee (APMCs) are allowed to avail credit upto Rs. 2 crore under the Fund for the purpose to establish cold storage facilities, sorting, grading and assaying units.

The repayment period has been increased to 6 years upto 2025-26 from 4 years earlier. Overall period for the scheme has been increased to 13 years upto 2032-33. Till now, projects worth Rs. 4,300 crore have been approved under the AIF. Narendra Singh Tomar, agriculture minister, said, the government is taking all the actions to further strengthen the APMCs. He said, “The APMCs are allowed to set up infrastructure facilities even outside the market yard premises, but will be within their command area.”

The government conveyed in its statement, “Eligibility (to avail loans from AIF) has now been extended to state agencies/APMCs, national and state federations of cooperatives, federations of farmers producers organisations (FPOs) and federations of self-help groups (SHGs).”