Why in the News?

The Union Cabinet has approved the expansion of the Agricultural Infrastructure Fund (AIF) scheme.
- It will now include financial support for Farmers’ Producers Organizations (FPOs) to enhance their financial security and creditworthiness.

About Agriculture Infrastructure Fund (AIF) Scheme:

	Details
Launch	July 2020, *Central Sector Scheme*
Nodal Ministry	Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Government of India
Fund Allocation	Rs. 1 lakh crore, with disbursements planned until 2025-26; interest subvention and credit guarantee assistance extended till 2032-33.
Aim	To mobilize medium to long-term debt financing for investment in viable projects relating to post-harvest management infrastructure and community farming assets, to enhance agricultural infrastructure in India.
Key Features	– Interest Subvention: 3% on loans up to Rs. 2 crore, with additional rate reductions for NABARD loans for PACS. – Credit Guarantees: Under the CGTMSE scheme for loans up to Rs. 2 crore. – Fund Usage: Supports up to 25 projects per beneficiary across different locations.
Target Beneficiaries	Farmers, Farmer Producer Organizations (FPOs), Primary Agricultural Credit Societies (PACS), entrepreneurs, startups, Self Help Groups, Agricultural Produce Market Committees, and federations.
Management	Managed through an online MIS platform with national, state, and district level monitoring committees for real-time monitoring and feedback.
Lending Institutions	Includes 24 commercial banks, 40 cooperative banks, and NABARD among others.
Hassle-Free Process	Supported by a user-friendly online portal to facilitate speedy loan sanctions.

	Description
Support for FPOs	Includes financial support for Farmers’ Producers Organizations (FPOs) to improve financial security and creditworthiness.
Broader Eligible Projects	Expand the scope to cover more types of agricultural infrastructure projects.
Community Farming Assets	Allows the creation of community farming assets to enhance productivity and sustainability.
Integrated Processing Projects	Adds integrated primary and secondary processing projects as eligible activities; standalone secondary projects remain under MoFPI schemes.
Alignment with PM-KUSUM	Converges AIF with PM-KUSUM Component-A for joint development of agricultural infrastructure and clean energy solutions.
Extended Credit Guarantee	Extends credit guarantee coverage to FPOs through NABSanrakshan, in addition to CGTMSE, to boost investment confidence.

[2015] 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 4,00,000 crore at present.

Select the correct answer using the codes given below:

(a) 1 only

(b) 2 only

(d) Neither 1 nor 2