In a bid to boost and expedite investments in the agriculture sector, the government is working to integrate schemes from various ministries and state governments under a unified digital platform — the Krishi Nivesh portal. Sources said the portal, by the ministry of agriculture, currently provides information on 17 flagship agri-sector schemes, including the Agriculture Infrastructure Fund, Animal Husbandry Infrastructure Development Fund, PM Kisan Sampada Yojana, and PM-KUSUM (Pradhan Mantri Kisan Urja Suraksha evam Utthaan Mahabhiyan), covering initiatives from seven ministries on a single platform.
Aligned with the government’s ‘ease of doing business’ initiative, the portal serves as a centralised interface to track investment opportunities, monitor the status of applications, and access information on schemes — all from a single source.The portal would eventually access the slow process of loan disbursal under various schemes while categorising investments opportunities based on geographical spread aimed at unlocking investment potential in the sector.
Currently, the portal is being utilised by multiple ministries, including those of agriculture, food processing, rural development, jal shakti, new and renewable energy and fertilisers. Officials said 14 ministries and departments of the central government and 9 departments of state government implement schemes relating to agriculture and allied sectors. According to officials, 14 ministries and central departments, along with 9 state departments, are involved in implementing agriculture and allied sector schemes.
“This portal is being developed as a one-stop place for availing the benefits promulgated by different departments and ministries in the agriculture sector,” an official said. Officials said discussions are on with the state governments as well as other central ministries to onboard 300 schemes currently being implemented for agriculture and allied sectors.
At present information about several mega schemes related to agriculture sectors are implemented by various ministries such as animal husbandry, rural development, agriculture and food processing are available with their respective ministries which makes it difficult for investors such as farmers producer organisations, entrepreneurs, and industries to navigate.
Initially credit linked schemes, public private partnership, venture capital projects and startups are being onboarded to the portal.
“Boosting private sector investments in Indian agriculture is essential for increasing productivity, improving infrastructure, enhancing value chains, and ensuring sustainability,” according to an official note. The government has allocated Rs 1.31 lakh crore for theses scheme as per revised estimate of FY25. Sources said in FY22, private investment in the agriculture sector was Rs 2.79 lakh crore.
While launching the platform last year, agriculture minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan had stated that the portal should address longstanding challenges in the agriculture sector, such as fragmented information, siloed operations across departments, and slow progress in loan disbursement and scheme applications. Chouhan had stated the digital platform would bridge the information gap and facilitate seamless coordination between various departments, for boosting agri-investments.