Punjab horticulture minister Chetan Singh Jauramajra on Saturday said the state government has sanctioned a total of 4,745 applications under the Agriculture Infrastructure Fund (AIF) scheme which supports post-harvest management projects and community farming assets.
In an official statement, the minister claimed that Punjab secured second position in the country for sanctioning the highest number of applications under the AIF scheme.
He said as on July 31, the state secured the second position after Madhya Pradesh with a total of 4,745 applications sanctioned.
He informed that the top five states in terms of sanctioning applications are Madhya Pradesh (6,316 applications), Punjab (4,745), Maharashtra (4,178), Uttar Pradesh (2,244) and Karnataka (2,029).
The minister said the top five districts in Punjab in terms of total applications received are Bathinda (1,095), Fazilka (1,015), Patiala (842), Sri Muktsar Sahib (784) and Sangrur (783).
With the valuable assistance from the AIF, numerous custom hiring centres, primary processing units, storage structures, cold stores etc. are being established in the state, he said.
The minister said the department of horticulture in Punjab serves as the nodal agency for this scheme.
He said Rs 4,713 crore has been allocated for the state, out of the total Rs 1 lakh crore financing facility of this scheme in the country.
Under the AIF scheme, eligible activities can avail of three per cent interest subvention on term loans up to Rs 2 crore with a cap on interest rates set at 9 per cent.
