To make farming more profitable and technology-driven, the government of the Indian state of West Bengal is offering a 50 per cent subsidy on farm machinery and 60 per cent on solar pump sets, up to a maximum of Rs 3 lakh, Kolkata's Sangbad Pratidin reports. It aims to help about 67,585 farmers, with 500 machinery hire centres, 1,085 farm machinery banks or hubs and 100 modern kisan drones.
Under the large-machinery scheme a farmer may buy one listed machine: power tiller, power weeder, power reaper, an electric, petrol, diesel or solar pump set, tractor-drawn multicrop thresher, paddy, maize and groundnut threshers, rotavator, engine-driven sprayer, mini rice, pulse, oil and millet mills, or a puffed-rice machine.
Under the small-machinery scheme a farmer may buy several items, such as hand sprayers, foot sprayers, pedal paddy threshers and hand chaff cutters, up to two of the same kind, also at 50 per cent subsidy.
For setting up a machinery bank the state gives an 80 per cent grant on projects of up to Rs 30 lakh, capped at Rs 24 lakh. Farmers registered under Krishak Bandhu (new) or PM Kisan Samman Nidhi and recognised farmer groups at least a year old may apply for projects up to Rs 10 lakh; above that only recognised groups may apply, and a bank loan for the balance is compulsory.
Applicants must be 18 to 70 and may not be serving or retired government employees; power tillers and solar pumps require at least 0.5 acre of land recorded in the farmer's name. Applications are online at wbfms.wb.gov.in from 6 October to 4 November, with a printed copy and documents to be submitted to the agriculture director's office.
The report is by Subhankar Patra of Sangbad Pratidin.
Photo: Biswarup Ganguly / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 3.0)
Source: Sangbad Pratidin
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