Boosting Agri-Innovation: Rs 122.50 Crore Support to Agri-Startups

The government has allocated Rs 122.50 crore to over 1,700 agri-startups under the Innovation and Agri-Entrepreneurship Development program since 2019. Part of the Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana, the initiative supports startups with financial aid of up to Rs 25 lakh, fostering innovation in agriculture.

The Indian government has disbursed Rs 122.50 crore to more than 1,700 agricultural startups over the past five years, aiming to fuel innovation and entrepreneurship in the sector, informed Parliament on Tuesday.

Initiated in 2018-19, the Innovation and Agri-Entrepreneurship Development programme, part of the Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana, provides financial and technical backing to nurture emerging agri-businesses. It seeks to promote the launch of new products and services and help scale operations for startups in agriculture and related fields.

According to the Minister of State for Agriculture Bhagirath Choudhary, who conveyed this information to the Lok Sabha, a substantial Rs 147.25 crore was released to 532 startups during the 2023-24 period alone. Startups receive Rs 5 lakh at their initial stage and up to Rs 25 lakh for expansion through 24 RKVY Agribusiness Incubators and five Knowledge Partners.

(With inputs from agencies.)