Chhattisgarh is among 12 States whose proposal for integration with the National Agriculture Market (NAM) had been given in-principle approval by the Central Government, officials stated.
Notably, the Central Government has approved a scheme for setting up of National Agriculture Market (NAM) on July 1, 2015 with a budget of Rs 200 crore, which is to be implemented during 2015-16 to 2017-18. The scheme envisages implementation of the National Agriculture Market (NAM) by setting up of an appropriate common e-market platform that would be deployed in 585 regulated wholesale markets in States/Union Territories (UTs) desirous of joining the e-platform. Small Farmers Agribusiness Consortium (SFAC) has been selected as the lead agency to implement the national e-platform.
The Department of Agriculture, Cooperation & Farmers Welfare (DAC&FW) will meet the cost on software and its customization for the States.
DAC&FW will also provide grant as one time fixed cost for related equipment / infrastructure subject to the ceiling of Rs 30.00 lakh per Mandi. The State Governments will propose the regulated markets which are to be integrated with NAM.
As on date, proposals from 12 States/UTs namely Gujarat, Maharashtra, Telangana, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, UT of Chandigarh, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh for integration of 365 mandis with NAM have been given in principle approval and grant has been released to Gujarat, Telangana, Jharkhand and Rajasthan.
Meanwhile, other States like Karnataka, Uttarakhand, Punjab Odisha, Tamil Nadu, UT of Puducherry, Administration of Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Assam, Manipur, Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland and Mizoram have also expressed their willingness to join NAM.
It is proposed to launch NAM on April 14, 2016, on a pilot basis, tentatively in 20 mandis across eight States.