Agriculture Infrastructure Fund:

In July 2020, the Union Cabinet approved a new Central Sector Scheme called Agriculture Infrastructure Fund. This will be a pan-India Scheme. The scheme will provide a medium to long-term debt financing facility for investment in projects related to post-harvest management, infrastructure, and community farming assets management and up-gradation through interest subvention and financial support. Read News here.

It is going to be a 10-year duration scheme, from FY 2020 to FY 2029.

The fund has a total of 1 lakh crore for financing different farms and related infra projects/works by giving low-interest loans up to Rs 2 crore under the ‘interest subvention scheme’.

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According to the Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare, this AIF :

(1) Will bring together all the stakeholders in the Agriculture ecosystem and their collective utility;

(2) This AIF is set to transform agri-infrastructure with more than Rs. 8,000 crore worth of applications,

(3) Innovative infrastructure and farmer partnership framework will emerge in the strong AIF.

More on Central Sector Scheme and Centre sponsored scheme:

1. Central schemes / Central Sector Schemes:
   1. These schemes are funded and implemented by the union government.
   2. Usually they are schemes related to the subjects over which union government has jurisdiction as per Schedule VII ( Union List)
2. Centrally Sponsored Schemes:
   1. These schemes are funded by the Union Government as well as State government but implemented by State governments.
   2. Funding pattern may be 50:50,75:25 etc.
   3. North Eastern and Hilly states generally have patter of  90:10

Also, read about flex-fuel vehicles

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