The Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare (MoA&FW), the Government of India, and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) under which UNDP will provide technical assistance to the Centre’s ambitious Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY) and Kisan Credit Card – Modified Interest Subvention Scheme.
KEY POINTS:
- CEO-PMFBY Ritesh Chauhan and UNDP Resident Representative Shoko Noda signed the MoU in the presence of Union Minister of Agriculture Narendra Singh Tomar.
- UNDP will use its systems experience and worldwide know-how to assist the Ministry of Agriculture in implementing combined agriculture loan and crop insurance under the terms of the MoU.
- The signing event was also attended by Union Minister of Agriculture for State Shri Kailash Chaudhary and Secretary of Agriculture, Shri Manoj Ahuja.
- KCC-MISS and PMFBY were created with the goal of addressing the shortcomings of prior schemes and creating a structure that provides better implementation alternatives for all stakeholders while attaining the desired outcomes.
- Several new provisions have been included to the Schemes to this end. One of the most appealing aspects of the present plans is that they apply evenly across the country and cover all crops.
- According to the MoU, UNDP will provide responsive, demand-driven technical assistance for the effective implementation of agriculture-credit and crop insurance, as well as capacity development and IEC support to existing national and state-institutions, all while keeping small and marginal farmers, women farmers, sharecroppers, tenant and non-loanee farmers in mind.
