Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana: Agriculture Ministry to Invest 36 Cr in 346 Agritech Startups

• The government has launched an agri-entrepreneurship programmeto boost agriculture through technology. 

• The government has already invested INR 11.85 Cr in 112 startups and will infuse 24.85 Cr in 234 startups soon.

The Government of India places high priority to the agriculture sector. In order to contribute directly and indirectly to enhancing the income of farmers by providing opportunities to them and employment to the youth, start-ups are being encouraged.  

Ministry of Agriculture, on August 6, announced that it is planning to invest nearly 36.71 Cr in 346 agritech startups and startup working in allied sectors like agro-processing, artificial intelligence, digital agriculture, farm mechanisation, waste to wealth, dairy, fisheries, among others. The selected start-ups were trained for two months at 29 agribusiness incubation centres (KPs & RABIs) spread across India.  

The investment will be a part of a ‘component, innovation and agri-entrepreneurship development programme’ under Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana (RKVY) to promote innovation and entrepreneurship in this domain by providing financial support and nurturing the incubation ecosystem. 

 Components of the Scheme 

• The programme will offer two-months-long “agri-preneurship orientation” with a monthly stipend of 10,000, along with mentorship on financial, technical, intellectual property (IP) related issues and more.  

• 24 RKVY-RAFTAAR Agribusiness Incubators (R-ABIs) will offer a seed-stage funding up to 25 Lakh (85% through grants while the remaining 15% contribution in the from the incubatee).

• For Idea/pre-seed stage startup, the programme will offer funding up to 5 Lakh (90% in grants and 10% contribution from the incubatees).  

 For more details on Agri-entrepreneurship, visit RKVY website: https://rkvy.nic

Overview of Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana 

APPROVED PROJECTS 16295 | ONGOING PROJECTS 7530 | COMPLETED PROJECTS 8198 

RKVY scheme was initiated in 2007 as an umbrella scheme for ensuring holistic development of agriculture and allied sectors. The scheme has come a long way since its inception and has been implemented across two plan periods (11th and 12th). The scheme incentivizes States to increase public investment in Agriculture & allied sectors. The Cabinet has approved (as on 1st November 2017) for continuation of the ongoing Centrally Sponsored Scheme (State Plans)

Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana (RKVY) as Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana- Remunerative Approaches for Agriculture and Allied Sector Rejuvenation (RKVY-RAFTAAR) for three years i.e. 2017-18 to 2019-20 with a financial allocation of Rs. 15,722 crores with broad objectives of making farming a remunerative economic activity through strengthening the farmer’s effort, risk mitigation and promoting agri-business entrepreneurship. 

Sources: Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare, Government of India; PTI