By T Nanda Kumar
Budget FY22 did have a few positives for agriculture: cleaning up FCI’s balance sheet (food subsidy), strengthening agri infrastructure, incentives to start-ups and the enhancement in RIDF allocations. Of these, the Rs 100,000 crore Agri- Infrastructure Fund is likely to be the real game-changer. The Budget provision for interest subvention on this account is small, signalling a slow start.
The Fund will depend on institutional sources to provide loans at concessional rates to farmers, FPOs, start-ups and other agripreneurs for investment in agri-related infrastructure. FM Nirmala Sitharaman also placed the report of the 15th Finance Commission (XVFC) in Parliament. The report contains important recommendations for agriculture. XVFC has…