New Delhi, Nov 14 (UNI) The National Cooperative Development Corporation (NCDC) has created a Rs 1000 crore Cooperative Start-up and Innovative Fund for encouraging cooperatives with start-ups and business ventures in agriculture and allied sectors.
The heavily incentivized scheme has a component of subsidy, as well as interest subvention. Cooperatives registered even one year ago will be eligible.
Launching the scheme here, Union Minister for Agriculture and Farmer’s Welfare Radha Mohan Singh said NCDC has created a dedicated fund with liberal features to enable youth to avail the scheme.
``The newly launched scheme—Cooperative Enterprise Support and Innovation Scheme—will be linked to the new fund. It will encourage cooperatives to venture into new and innovative areas,’’ he said.
NCDC lending so far has been to cooperatives working in fishery, sugar, textiles, foodgrains, oilseeds, plantation crops, fruits and vegetables, cold storages, water conservation, dairy, poultry, handloom, coir and Seri-culture and so on. There are 8 lakh registered societies in the country.
The funding of a project under the scheme will be up to 80 per cent of the project cost for special category of people from north-eastern region, aspirational districts and cooperatives with women or Scheduled Caste or Scheduled Tribes or People with Disabilities. For general category the funding will be up to 70 per cent of the project cost.
Other than the subsidy, the scheme envisages 2 per cent interest subvention on the term loan for the project cost up to Rs 3 crore including 2 years moratorium on payment of principal.
Another incentive is that all cooperatives in operation for at least one year, rather than three years, shall be eligible to avail loan under the scheme.
Lauding the effort of the NCDC, Mr Singh said that the NCDC had an excellent track record and will provide the required hand-holding for making the scheme a success.
The NCDC is the sole statutory organisation that functions as an apex financial and developmental; institution devoted exclusively to the cooperative sector.
Between 2014-2018, the NCDC gave loans to the tune of Rs 63702.61 crore, which is 22 per cent more than the amount disbursed between 2010-14, which was Rs 19850.6 crore.
Earlier, addressing the National Cooperative Union of India, the Minister said that the government had been encouraging start-ups and for ease of doing business and non-conventional opportunities were being encouraged.
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