Agriculture Infrastructure Fund (AIF)

In News: On the occasion of India’s presidency of the G-20, through the theme ‘One Earth, One Family, One Future’, a one-day workshop on Agriculture Infrastructure Fund (AIF) and Madhya Pradesh Farm Gate App is being organized with the aim of encouraging the sense of global unity and increasing the participation of women in the field of agriculture.

• Representatives of NABARD and APEDA will provide information about various schemes

Agriculture Infrastructure Fund (AIF)

• Agriculture Infra Fund (AIF) is a financing facility launched in 2020 for creation of post-harvest management infrastructure and community farm assets.
• Under this scheme, Rs 1 lakh crore is to be disbursed by financial year 2025-26 and the interest subvention and credit guarantee assistance will be given till the year 2032-33.
• It gives 3% interest subvention, credit guarantee support through CGTMSE for loan of up to Rs.2 crore and facility of convergence with other Central and State Govt. Scheme
• AIF is providing all around financial support to the farmers, Agri-entrepreneurs, farmer groups like Farmer Producer Organisations (FPOs), Self Help Groups (SHGs),  Joint Liability Groups (JLGs) etc. and many others to create post-harvest management infrastructure and build community farming asset throughout the country.

NABARD

• NABARD came into existence in 1982 by transferring the agricultural credit functions of RBI and refinance functions of the then Agricultural Refinance and Development Corporation (ARDC).

• Consequent to the revision in the composition of share capital between Government of India and RBI, NABARD today is fully owned by Government of India.
• It is an apex regulatory body for overall regulation of regional rural banks and apex cooperative banks in India.
• It is under the jurisdiction of Ministry of Finance, Government of India.
• The bank has been entrusted with “matters concerning policy, planning, and operations in the field of credit for agriculture and other economic activities in rural areas in India”.
• NABARD is active in developing and implementing financial inclusion.

The Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA)

• It is a statutory body, established by the Government of India under the Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority Act passed by the Parliament in 1985.
• The Authority replaced the Processed Food Export Promotion Council (PFEPC).

Functions

• Development of industries relating to the scheduled products for export by way of providing financial assistance or otherwise for undertaking surveys and feasibility studies, participation in enquiry capital through joint ventures and other reliefs and subsidy schemes;
• Registration of persons as exporters of the scheduled products on payment of such fees as may be prescribed;
• Fixing of standards and specifications for the scheduled products for the purpose of exports;
• Carrying out inspection of meat and meat products in slaughter houses, processing plants, storage premises, conveyances, or other places where such products are kept or handled for the purpose of ensuring the quality of such products;
• Improving of packaging of the Scheduled products;
• Improving of marketing of the Scheduled products outside India;
• Training in various aspects of the industries connected with the scheduled products;

Source PIB

Previous Year Question

Q1) With reference to ‘National Investment and Infrastructure Fund’, which of the following statements is/are correct?

1. It is an organ of NITI Aayog.
2. It has a corpus of Rs. 4, 00,000 crore at present.

Select the correct answer using the code given below:

1. 1 only
2. 2 only
3. Both 1 and 2
4. Neither 1 nor 2