Agriculture Infrastructure Fund: Objectives, Features and Benefits

The National Agriculture Infra Financing Facility, also known as the Agriculture Infrastructure Fund (AIF), was launched by the Prime Minister of India on May 15, 2020. In this article, we will comprehensively cover all the important information related to the scheme and how it has fared in the past months. 

If you want to work as an Agriculture (Field) Officer with public sector or regional rural banks or with NABARD, we sincerely encourage you to properly take a look at all the details provided in this article. 

Agriculture Infrastructure Fund Overview

Agriculture Infrastructure Fund Objectives

• The primary aim of the scheme is to mobilize medium and long-term finances to invest in agriculture and allied projects.  
• Improved marketing infrastructure for farmers to sell to more consumers. 
• The scale of balance with harvest and selling will tip in favour of farmers. 
• Reduce the role of intermediaries between farmers (producers) and sellers. 
• Improved productivity through the maximization of inputs can increase farmers’ savings 

Agriculture Infrastructure Fund Features

• The scheme is part of the ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’ project to make farmers self-sufficient. 
• The scheme was approved by the Union Cabinet in July 2020.  
• Lending institutions include Regional Rural Banks, Commercial Banks, Small Finance Banks, Cooperative Banks and the like. 
• Online single window facility in collaboration with participating lending institutions.
• This fund has been converged with centre and/or state government schemes.
• The sanctioned amount, i.e., ₹1 lakh Crore will be expended over a course of 4 years. The first year saw an outlay of ₹10,000 crore. ₹30,000 crore will be spend over the next three financial years.
• The fund will be supervised and administered through the Management Information System (MIS).
• The postponement of repayment of the loans may vary from a minimum of 6 months to a maximum of 2 years depending upon the lending bank.

Agriculture Infrastructure Fund Benefits

• Credit Guarantee can be provided for a loan up to ₹ 2 crore.
• The rate of interest offered is 3% per annum for a loan of ₹2 crore.
• Need-based refinance may be offered by NABARD to participating banks. 
• The maximum lending rate has been outlined so that the loans remain affordable for beneficiaries. 
• This will improve the income of farmers in the long run.
• With the inefficaciousness reduced at every level, better products will reach the markets at better prices for consumers. 

Scheme Monitoring

The monitoring of the AIF will be conducted at 3 levels, namely, national, state and district. For this, committees have been drawn that will ensure the smooth functioning of the scheme so that maximum benefit can be provided to farmers. These committees are:

• National Level Monitoring Committees
• State Level Monitoring Committees
• District Level Monitoring Committees

Needless to say, these committees will work within their respective jurisdictions. 

Agriculture Infrastructure Fund Who Can Apply?

• Primary Agricultural Credit Societies (PACS)
• Marketing Cooperative Societies
• Farmer Producers Organizations (FPOs)
• Farmers
• Self Help Group (SHG)
• Joint Liability Groups (JLG)
• Multipurpose Cooperative Societies
• Agri-entrepreneurs, Start-ups
• Central/State agency or Local Body sponsored Public-Private Partnership Projects

How to Apply for Loan

The government has released a video that outlines every minute detail of how eligible candidates can apply for loans. The video is available in Hindi and English. 

AIF Online Portal

For the convenience of the beneficiaries and interested persons, the government has set up an AIF online portal through which eligible persons can apply for the loans. For this, people are required to register themselves and then use their accounts for further activities. 

What’s new?

The scheme was initially launched to run between 2020-2029. However, the duration of the scheme has now been extended, i.e, 2020-2032 

Eligible Projects under Agriculture Infrastructure Fund

Interested in taking the AIF loan? Take a look at all the AIF eligible projects for which you can avail a loan. 

Some Useful links

The government has provided an online directory with useful links for the benefit of the people. You can find the information for several important resources. We encourage you to visit the page and take a look at the same.  

Other Schemes for Farmers and Rural Development

• Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY)
• Personal Accident Insurance Scheme (PAIS)
• PM KISAN Yojana
• PM Kisan Maan Dhan Yojana
• Operation Greens
• Gramin Bhandaran Yojana
• Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayi Yojana
• Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi.
• Soil Health Card
• Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan

Study with ixamBee

ixamBee has a range of online courses that you can choose from depending upon your needs and the exam(s) you would like to take. We also sincerely encourage you to take a look at the upcoming government exams.

All the best!

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