Providing adequate credit support to all farmers, especially small and marginal farmers and vulnerable sections of society, is crucial to improving agricultural productivity and income, states the Economic Survey 2024-25, tabled by Union Minister of Finance and Corporate Affairs, Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman in the Parliament today.

The Economic Survey highlights that as of March 2024, the country has 7.75 crore operational Kisan Credit Card (KCC) accounts with a loan outstanding of ₹9.81 lakh crore. As of 31 March 2024, 1.24 lakh KCC and 44.40 lakh KCC were issued to fisheries and animal husbandry activities, respectively.

Modified Interest Subvention Scheme

Starting from FY25, the claim processing under Modified Interest Subvention Scheme (MISS) has been digitised through the Kisan Rin Portal (KRP) for faster and more efficient capturing and settlement of MISS claims. By 31 December 2024, over 1 lakh crore claims have been processed. About 5.9 crore farmers that are currently getting benefitted under the MISS-KCC scheme, have been mapped through KRP. To further support small and marginal farmers, banks must allocate 40 per cent of their Adjusted Net Bank Credit (ANBC) or Credit Equivalent Amount of Off-Balance Sheet Exposure (CEOBE), whichever is higher, to priority sectors, including agriculture. All the above measures have significantly reduced the reliance on non-institutional credit sources from 90 per cent in 1950 to around 25.0 per cent in FY22.

Ground-Level Credit

Ground-level credit (GLC) to agriculture has also shown impressive growth with a CAGR of 12.98 per cent from 2014-15 to 2024-25. The GLC has risen from ₹8.45 lakh crore in 2014-15 to ₹25.48 lakh crore in 2023-24. Within this, the share of small and marginal farmers has significantly increased from ₹3.46 lakh crore (41 per cent) to ₹14.39 lakh crore (57 per cent) from 2014-15 to 2023-24.

Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana

The participation of State governments and insurers has increased to 24 and 15, respectively, in FY25, up from 20 and 11 in the 2020-21. Additionally, these interventions have contributed to a 32 per cent reduction in premium rates compared to previous years. As a result, in the FY24 period, the number of enrolled farmers reached 4 crore, a 26 per cent increase from 3.17 crore in the FY23 period. The insured area also expanded to 600 lakh hectares in FY24, reflecting a 19 per cent rise from 500 lakh hectares in FY23.

PM-KISAN and Pradhan Mantri Kisan Maandhan Yojana

Government initiatives like PM-KISAN, which provides direct income support to farmers, and Pradhan Mantri Kisan Maandhan Yojna (PMKMY), which offers pension schemes for farmers, have successfully contributed to bolstering farmers' incomes and enhancing their social security safety nets. More than 11 crore farmers have been benefitted under PM-KISAN and 23.61 lakh farmers had enrolled under PMKMY as of 31st October 2024. In addition to these efforts, reforms such as e-KYC compliance under the ONORC initiative and credit guarantee schemes for e-NWR financing address systemic inefficiencies that have historically plagued the agricultural sector.

FOOD MANAGEMENT: ENABLING FOOD SECURITY

The Economic Survey states that the government has long tackled household food security through the Public Distribution System (PDS) and Targeted PDS (TPDS), the National Food Security Act (NFSA) 2013 and the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PMGKAY) marked a fundamental shift in the approach to food security. NFSA act legally entitles up to 75 per cent of the rural population and up to 50 per cent of the urban population to receive foodgrain, free of cost, under the Targeted Public Distribution System, which, as per Census 2011, comes to 81.35 crore persons. Therefore, about two-thirds of the population is covered under the Act to receive highly subsidised food grains. The allocation of free food grain under PMGKAY is in addition to the regular allocation for around 80 crore beneficiaries. The provision of free food grains under PMGKAY for another five years, with effect from 1st January 2024, reflects the long-term commitment and vision of the Government for addressing National food and nutrition security.

AGRICULTURE MECHANIZATION:

Sub-Mission on Agricultural Mechanisation

The Economic Survey states that the Sub-Mission on Agricultural Mechanisation (SMAM) supports state governments with training and demonstrations related to agricultural machinery, in establishing Custom Hiring Centres (CHCs), and assisting farmers in acquiring various farming equipment. As of 31 December, 26,662 CHCs were established under this initiative, with 138 CHCs set up in the year FY25 alone.

Promoting Drones to Women Self-Help Groups

The government has promoted a recently approved scheme aimed at providing drones to Women SHGs. This initiative targets 15000 selected Women SHGs to offer rental services to farmers for agricultural purposes, including for the application of fertilisers and pesticides. Central financial assistance of 80 percent of the drone's cost and related ancillary charges, up to a maximum of ₹8 lakh, will be granted to the women SHGs for drone purchases. This scheme will also deliver sustainable business and livelihood support to the SHGs, enabling them to generate an additional

income of at least ₹1 lakh per annum.

AGRICULTURE MARKETING INFRASTRUCTURE

Agriculture Marketing Infrastructure Sub-Scheme

The Economic Survey states that under Agriculture Marketing Infrastructure Sub-Scheme, as of October 31, 2024, 48611 storage infrastructure projects have been sanctioned, with ₹4,795.47 crore disbursed in subsidies. In addition, 21004 projects related to other types of infrastructure assisted under the AMI scheme have been sanctioned, amounting to a subsidy of ₹2,125.76 crore.

e-NAM

The Economic Survey states that the initiative provides free software and financial assistance of ₹75 lakh per Agricultural Produce Market Committee (APMC) Mandi for essential hardware, which includes quality assaying equipment and the development of infrastructure for cleaning, grading, sorting, and packaging. As of October 31, 2024, over 1.78 crore farmers and 2.62 lakh traders have registered on the e-NAM portal. As of the same date, 9,204 FPOs have been registered, and 4,490 of these organisations have received equity grants amounting to ₹237 crore.

FOOD GRAIN STORAGE INFRASTRUCTURE

The Economic Survey highlights that to support and upgrade the storage infrastructure for foodgrains and to ramp up the storage capacity in India, steel silos are being created under PPP.

Hub and Spoke Model Silos

The government is creating capacity under Hub and Spoke Model Silos, where “Hub” silos have a dedicated railway siding and container depot facility. While the transportation from “Spoke” Silos to “Hub” Silos is undertaken by road, transportation from Hub to Hub is via rail.

Flospan: Mobile Storage Unit

To improve food grain storage, especially in hilly and remote areas, the government is exploring the use of Flospan, a type of Mobile Storage Unit (MSU), in collaboration with the World Food Programme (WFP). These units can be quickly erected and have a storage capacity of 400 metric tonnes. As a pilot project, WFP has installed Flospan in six states: Jammu & Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan, Mizoram, Uttarakhand, and Chhattisgarh.

Smart Warehouse

To modernise government grain warehouses, the government partnered with WFP and IGMRI to pilot a 'Smart Warehouse'. This warehouse uses sensors to monitor temperature, humidity, airflow, and rodent activity, providing real-time data to improve storage and reduce losses.

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