Government to aid 112 AgriTech startUps with a sum of Rs 11.85 cr

Narendra Singh Tomar, the Agriculture Minister has announced that India government will fund 112 startups in the first phase. In the current financial year, to promote agricultural firms the government will provide a sum of Rs 11.85 cr. The fund will be distributed among the startups selected on the basis of different knowledge parameters and agribusiness incubators. The areas are of agro-processing, food technology, and value addition.

Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana (RKVY)

Uunder the Innovation and Agri-entrepreneurship Development Programme, the Agriculture Ministry will provide the funds. It is a revamped version of the Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana (RKVY). The funds will be released in instalments. Narendra Sing, on this occasion, added that selected startups have been trained for two months at 29 agribusiness incubation centres spread across India.

These startups will provide employment opportunities for the youth. The startups, directly and indirectly, will also contribute to enhancing the income of farmers. India government has identified five knowledge partners as centres of excellence. It also has 24 RKVY-RAFTAAR agribusiness incubators (R-ABIs) from across the country after a nationwide advertisement and a rigorous selection process.

The Agriculture Minister emphasised on increasing private investment in the sector. His vision is to attract the youth to agriculture and rejuvenate the sector. He also stressed the need to make agriculture competitive, provide handholding to agriculture-based activities, and adopt new technology at the earliest.