BHARAT: Manoj Ahuja Launches New Campaign for Banks under Agri Infra Fund

Manoj Ahuja, Secretary of the Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare, inaugurated a new campaign for banks under the Agri Infra Fund called BHARAT (Banks Heralding Accelerated Rural & Agriculture Transformation). The campaign, which will run from July 15th, 2023 to August 15th, 2023, aims to raise Rs 7200 crore.

The launch took place via a video conference attended by over 100 banking executives, including Managing Directors, Chairpersons, and Executive Directors from commercial banks in the public and private sectors, regional rural banks, small finance banks, NBFCs, and select cooperative banks.

During the conference, Samuel Praveen Kumar, Joint Secretary (AIF), highlighted the progress achieved since the inception of this ambitious flagship scheme. In his welcome address, he commended the banks for their active involvement and support in promoting the BHARAT campaign.

So far, the scheme has facilitated the creation of more than 31,850 agricultural infrastructure projects across the country, with a loan amount of Rs24,750 crore under the Agri Infra Fund, which has a total outlay of Rs42,000 crore.

Expressing his satisfaction with the support from the Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare and the Project Monitoring Unit of the Agri Infra Fund, Secretary Manoj Ahuja, and participating bank executives engaged in fruitful discussions and generated numerous suggestions to further elevate the AIF scheme.

Secretary Ahuja congratulated the top-performing banks in different categories, including State Bank of India, Canara Bank, Punjab National Bank, HDFC, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Madhya Pradesh Gramin Bank, Madhyanchal Gramin Bank, and Punjab Gramin Bank, for their commendable efforts in contributing to the success of the scheme.

He urged all banks to strive to achieve their targets, considering the vast potential for agricultural infrastructure projects in the country. Additionally, the banks were advised to conduct on-ground assessments to evaluate the impact of the projects implemented under the AIF scheme.

The BHARAT campaign marks a significant step forward in accelerating rural and agricultural transformation in India. With the active involvement and support of banking institutions, the Agri Infra Fund is poised to drive the development of essential agricultural infrastructure across the nation.