The Government as a policy is promoting ‘Make in India’ products and encouraging domestic manufacturers for manufacturing agricultural machinery and equipments through Research & Development support, skill development, simplification of rules and procedures for testing of machines and equipments, preference to make in India products in public procurement and to provide level playing field to domestic manufacturers, import restriction under Foreign Trade Policy, etc.

To boost the farm mechanization in the country, a special dedicated scheme Sub Mission on Agriculture Mechanization (SMAM) has been introduced by the Government under which the subsidy is provided for purchase of various types of agricultural equipments and machinery to the extent of 40-50% for States other than NER States and for NER States it is 100% limited to Rs.1.25 lakhs per beneficiary.

The objective of Agriculture Infrastructure Fund (AIF) is to mobilize a medium – long term debt finances facility for investment in viable projects for post-harvest management Infrastructure and community farming assets through incentives and financial support in order to improve agriculture infrastructure in the country. The scheme will facilitate setting up and modernization of key elements of the value chain.

As mentioned above, AIF provides financial facility to set up custom hiring centers for creating community farm assets. The benefit for other machinery such as tractor, combine harvesters, etc., can be availed under other schemes of this Ministry.

This information was given in a written reply by the Union Minister of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Shri Narendra Singh Tomar in Rajya Sabha today.

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APS