Gram Samridhi Yojana

Central government announced on 01.03.2019 that it is going to launch Pradhan Mantri Gram Samriddhi Yojana to create jobs in mico food processing sector in India. Union Minister for Food Processing Industries, Smt. Harsimrat Kaur Badal said that PM Gram Samridhi Yojana 2019 would focus on employment generation in the next 5 years. All the unemployed candidates especially farmer's children does not have to look for employment elsewhere.

Under PM Gram Samridhi Yojana 2019, small farmers would be facilitated to create upto 70,000 micro food processing units in the country. The capital investment to be less than Rs. 10 lakh for each unit. Through this scheme, farmers would turn into job creators rather than becoming job seekers.

The primary focus is on creating jobs in the sector, setting up a non-banking finance company (NBFC) to fund food processing units, push for National Food Processing policy and organizing World Food India event on a much larger scale.

Features of PM Gram Samridhi Yojana 2019

The important features and highlights of Pradhan Mantri Gram Samridhi Yojana are as follows:-

- The central govt. was already working on PM Gram Samriddhi Yojana with World Bank which is now going to be launched soon.

- PM Gram Samridhi Yojana will focus on micro enterprises with capitalization of less than Rs. 10 lakh rupees.

- The main objective is to target small farmers. The central govt. will facilitate creation of 60 to 70 thousand such units within a short time.

- The pilot project would be done in 4 states namely Andhra Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Punjab and initiative will be expanded subsequently.

- PM Gram Samridhi Yojana aims at development of modern infrastructure to encourage entrepreneurs to set up food processing units, upgrade technology in existing unit, improve management of the units and give technical support..

Gram Samridhi Yojana also aims to provide common facility centres and business incubators in rural areas. The incubator will provide infrastructure and services to support the growth of new food businesses. It will provide equipment and programs to help a businessmen or an entrepreneur launch a new product through development, market launch and growth in sales.

The Indian govt. would also focus on getting NBFC funds for the food processing sector and to give a push to the National Food Processing Policy. World Bank will be giving Rs. 1,500 crore while Rs. 1,000 crore will be borne by the centre while state governments will put in Rs 500 crore, totalling it to Rs. 3,000 crore.

The "World Food India" event is very near and it would be bigger and better than last time. A review meeting of Officers would be held to understand the progress that has happened in the past few months. Moreover, the Union govt. would also focus on giving boost to food processing sector in the North East. This area has a tremendous potential and it is going to be one of the focused geographies.

Gram Samridhi Yojana
Gram Samridhi Yojana has been launched by the Central Government to help the unorganised food processing enterprises focused in rural areas. Under this Scheme, the Government grants a subsidy to small or marginal farmer producer organisations and individual food processors to enhance capacities, performances and strengthening the farm-to-market supply chain. In this article, we look at the Gram Samridhi Yojana in detail.

Objectives of the Scheme
The primary objectives of Gram Samridhi Yojana is to implement entrepreneurship development process with required skills and knowledge in setting up the food processing units besides upgrading technology in existing units, improve management of units and to provide technical support.

Features and Benefits
The below listed are the range of features and benefits of Gram Samridhi Yojana.

This scheme means to focus on setting up Common Facility Centers (CFCs) and provide business incubators facilities in rural areas. The incubator will provide the required infrastructure, incubation space and services to support the growth of new food businesses.
It will provide support services, equipment and assistance programs to help businessmen/entrepreneur in launching a new product into the market by enhancing the sales and revenue through development.

This scheme additionally aims to guarantee an Increase in farmers income and also ensures job opportunities in rural zones, and they are accompanying this plan for food processing ventures.

Nearly 25 lakhs of food processing enterprises in the unorganised sector/units to be targeted under this Gram Samridhi Yojana.

Eligibility Criteria
The applicant must fulfil the following conditions to apply for the Gram Samridhi Yojana.

Applicant must be an Indian resident.
Food processing units and rural area food processing unit are eligible under this scheme

Documents Required
The unorganised food processing units, which constitute the Agro Processing clusters, who will have to furnish their production and concerned registration papers. In case if the applicant has opted for the credit, then the applicant will be charged within 3% to 5% by the Government.

Subsidy available

A maximum subsidy of Rs. 10 Lakhs is given by the government for each food processing unit. This subsidy provides infrastructure facilities and services to improve the growth of new food businesses. Under this scheme, the government plans for the interest subsidy on loans, if an entrepreneur or businessman has taken a loan from any bank.

There is also a provision to extend financial assistance to micro enterprises of about 70,000 units at the maximum of 50% of the eligible project cost subject to a maximum of Rs. 5 lakhs for the expansion and upgradation of their micro-enterprises. There is a provision for getting subsidy on bank interest by 3% to 5%

Application Procedure

Gram Samridhi Yojana can be applied by providing a unit to fill up the applications along with the information of the persons who are ready to avail the benefits of this scheme. The applicants will have to fill in the enrollment forms and submit them to the relevant office. Then the respective department will make the verification process and prepare the beneficiary list. The scheme will run in for a five year period in the states of Uttar Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra and Punjab. After that, the scheme will be applied to overall India. The clear online application procedure for this scheme will be intimated in the official portal by the government. The state government is more likely to opt for an online application process for the ease of the applicants.

Gram Samridhi Yojana

Features of PM Gram Samridhi Yojana 2019

Pradhan Mantri Yojana