• Approval Date: 09.08.2024 ; Outlay: ₹1,765.67 crore
• Objective: Enhance quality and productivity of horticulture crops.
• Key Features: Focus on providing disease-free planting material, promoting climate-resilient varieties, reducing crop losses, and improving horticultural produce quality.
• Financial Support: 50% from Mission for Integrated Development of Horticulture (MIDH) budget and 50% as a loan from the Asian Development Bank (ADB).
• Implementation: Establishment of 9 Clean Plant Centers (CPCs) for disease diagnostics, treatments, and quarantine; development of large-scale nurseries for clean planting material propagation; creation of a regulatory and certification framework to ensure traceability in planting material production.

• Objective: Create a robust digital ecosystem for farmers by providing timely and reliable crop-related information.
• Key Features: Establish Agristack, Krishi Decision Support System (DSS), Comprehensive Soil Fertility & Profile Map, Digital General Crop Estimation Survey (DGCES), and expansion of IT platforms like Krishi Nivesh Portal and Krishi-DSS Portal.
• Digital Infrastructure: Promotes farmer-centric solutions, digitization, and technology-enabled agricultural services.

(Discussed in detail in one of the today’s articles.)

• Approval Date: 28.08.2024
• Objective: Enhance agricultural infrastructure across India.
• Key Features: Loans up to ₹2 crores with 3% interest subvention for 7 years. Covers a wide range of entities like PACS, FPOs, self-help groups, agri-entrepreneurs. 24% reserved for SC/ST entrepreneurs.
• Credit Guarantee: Available under Credit Guarantee Fund Trust for Micro and Small Enterprises (CGTMSE) for loans up to ₹2 crores.
  Integration: Linked with PM Kusum ‘A’ and other community farming assets projects to enhance agricultural production.

• Approval Date: 03.10.2024; Outlay: ₹10,103 crore
• Objective: Boost domestic oilseed production and achieve self-reliance in edible oils.
• Implementation Period: 2024-25 to 2030-31
• Key Features: Target to increase oilseed production from 39 million tonnes (2022-23) to 69.7 million tonnes by 2030-31. Focus on key oilseeds like rapeseed, mustard, groundnut, soybean, sunflower, and Sesamum.
• Expansion: Oilseed cultivation in rice fallow areas, and intercropping. Setting up 65 new seed hubs and 50 seed storage units. Development of over 600 Value Chain Clusters in 347 districts.

• Approval Date: 25.11.2024; Outlay: ₹2,481 crore (GOI Share: ₹1,584 crore; State Share: ₹897 crore)
• Objective: Promote natural farming practices across India.
• Key Features: Focus on Bhartiya Prakritik Krishi Paddhati (BPKP), scaling up natural farming across 7.5 lakh hectares through 15,000 clusters.
• Financial Assistance: ₹15,000 per hectare for 3 years to farmers for infrastructure creation.
• Infrastructure: Establishment of 15,000 BRCs to facilitate access to bio-inputs like cow dung, neem, and bioculture. Master Trainer Program for large-scale training on natural farming techniques.

1. National Pest Surveillance System (NPSS): To monitor and control pest infestations.
2. AgriSURE: A fund for start-ups and rural enterprises in agriculture.
3. Krishi Nivesh Portal (Phase-I): A platform for facilitating investments in the agriculture sector.
4. Krishi-DSS Portal: A geospatial platform to provide decision support for Indian agriculture.
5. Voluntary Carbon Market (VCM): Promoting sustainable agricultural practices through carbon credit initiatives.

PYQ:

[2020] In India, which of the following can be considered as public investment in agriculture?

1. Fixing Minimum Support Price for agricultural produce of all crops
2. Computerization of Primary Agricultural Credit Societies
3. Social Capital development
4. Free electricity supply to farmers
5. Waiver of agricultural loans by the banking system
6. Setting up of cold storage facilities by the governments

Select the correct answer using the code given below:

(a) 1, 2 and 5 only

(b) 1, 3, 4 and 5 only

(c) 2, 3 and 6 only

(d) 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6