Cabinet okays Rs 6,520 cr for PM Kisan Sampada Yojana
The Union Cabinet on Thursday approved a total outlay of Rs 6,520 crore, including an additional outlay of Rs 1,920 crore, for the ongoing central scheme “Pradhan Mantri Kisan Sampada Yojana" (PMKSY) during 15th Finance Commission cycle (FCC) 2021-22 to 2025-26.
The approval includes Rs 1,000 crore to support setting up of 50 multi-product food irradiation units under the component scheme – Integrated Cold Chain and Value Addition Infrastructure (ICCVAI) — and 100 food testing laboratories with NABL accreditation under the component scheme – Food Safety and Quality Assurance Infrastructure (FSQAI) — of PMKSY. Secondly, Rs 920 crore was released for sanctioning projects under various component schemes of PMKSY.
The expression of interests (EOIs) would be floated for inviting proposals from eligible entities across the country. The proposals received against the EOI would be approved after proper scrutiny as per eligibility criteria as per the extant scheme guidelines.
The implementation of the proposed 50 multi-product food irradiation units is expected to create total preservation capacity ranging from 20 to 30 lakh metric tonnes (LMT) per annum, based on the type of food products irradiated under these units. The setting up of the proposed 100 NABL-accredited food testing laboratories under the private sector will lead to the development of advanced infrastructure for testing food samples, thereby ensuring compliance with food safety standards and supply of safe foods.
In yet another decision, the Cabinet also cleared the Central sector scheme “Grant in aid to National Cooperative Development Corporation (NCDC)” with an outlay of Rs 2,000 crore for a period of four years from 2025-26 to 2028- 29.
On the basis of grant in aid of Rs 2,000 crore to NCDC from FY 2025-26 to FY 2028-29, NCDC will be able to raise Rs 20,000 crore from the open market over a span of four years. These funds will be utilised by NCDC for granting loans to cooperatives for setting up new projects and for expansion of plants and loan for meeting the working capital requirements.
Approximately 2.9 crore members of 13,288 cooperative societies of various sectors like dairy, livestock, fisheries, sugar, textile, and food processing across the country are likely to benefit from the decision, official sources.
India