India to decrease safety deposit to 1% for farmers at WDRA-accredited warehouses

Launching a digital platform for farmers to safe loans in opposition to their produce when saved in formally accredited warehouses, Meals Minister Piyush Goyal on Monday introduced that the safety deposit fees will quickly be lowered.

Goyal stated farmers stocking their produce at warehouses, registered with the Warehousing Growth and Regulatory Authority (WDRA) would wish to pay only one per cent safety deposit as an alternative of the present 3 per cent and shortly vital orders might be notified. This may encourage extra farmers, particularly small farmers, to utilise the warehouses and improve their earnings and make agriculture a pretty proposition, he stated.

The minister launched the digital gateway named ‘e-Kisan Upaj Nidhi’, which would be the single-point window to acquire post-harvest loans from banks in opposition to farm produce saved within the WDRA registered warehouses. The loans are offered in opposition to digital Negotiable Warehouse Receipts (e-NWRs) and at many locations, these are utilised by merchants, too. Out of an estimated 1 lakh agri-warehouses within the nation, solely about 5,500 are registered with WDRA. The quantity elevated solely when the federal government made it obligatory to register in case warehouses are to be made accessible to the Meals Company of India (FCI) on lease.

Emphasis on know-how

Nevertheless, many trade consultants query the rationale of safety deposit for small farmers as their produce is saved on the warehouse bodily, which may be offered and recovered from the depositor in case of any failure of fee of rental, comparable to what’s performed when mortgage isn’t repaid.

The minister emphasised the necessity to modernise Indian agriculture by the usage of know-how to boost farmers’ earnings. Goyal stated that farmers will simply get loans at 7 per cent rate of interest, with none collateral, by ‘e-Kisan Upaj Nidhi’. Farmers wouldn’t be compelled to promote their crops in misery and will selected the best time, he added.

The minister stated the world’s largest grain storage capability programme has been launched in co-operative sector and requested the WDRA to register the godown established by cooperatives with none charges. He confused on the necessity to modernise the warehouses operated by the state businesses like FCI and CWC.

By means of the negotiable warehouse receipt system, WDRA permits banks to enhance the standard of their lending portfolio and improve their curiosity in lending in opposition to items deposited in warehouses.