Union Minister for Agriculture and Agrarian Welfare Narendra Singh Tomar said o Sunday that the Central government will fund startups in the agri sector and has allocated ₹11.85 for the current financial year.
These funds will be provided under the Innovation and Agri-entrepreneurship Development Programme launched under the Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana.
In the first phase of 2020-2021, funds will be provided in installments to 112 new businesses set up in the fields of agricultural processing, food technology and value addition. These startups have been selected by different knowledg partners and have been trained for 2 months at 29 agribusiness incubation centres spread across the country.
Five knowledge partners as centres of excellence and 24 RKVY-RAFTAAR agribusiness incubators (R-ABIs) have been identified from across the country after a nationwide advertisement and a rigorous selection process.
Earlier this month, Minister Tomar added that while reviewing the progress of research, expansion and education in the country, Prime Minister Narendra Modi emphasized on the need to encourage new startups and agri-entrepreneurs to ensure that technology is used and innovations are introduced in the agricultural and agro-based sectors.
Following this, the Prime Minister has also called for conducting hackathons to solve specific problems in agriculture.