Govt Approves ₹6,520 Crore for Pradhan Mantri Kisan Sampada Yojana

The Union Cabinet, led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has given approval to continue the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Sampada Yojana (PMKSY) with a total funding of ₹6,520 crore. This includes an additional ₹1,920 crore that will be used during the 15th Finance Commission period from 2021–22 to 2025–26.

Focus on Food Irradiation Units and Testing Lab

Consisting this amount, Rs 1,000 crore has been reserved to set up 50 Multi-Product Food Irradiation Units. These will be built under the scheme for Integrated Cold Chain and Value Addition Infrastructure (ICCVAI). Another portion of the funding will be used to build 100 food testing laboratories, which will be NABL accredited, under the Food Safety and Quality Assurance Infrastructure (FSQAI) scheme. Both of these fall under the larger PMKSY umbrella. An additional ₹920 crore will go toward approving other projects in different segments of the PMKSY during the same finance period. Both ICCVAI and FSQAI are demand-based schemes, and will only be implemented if there is sufficient interest from eligible companies and stakeholders.

New Units to Improve Food Preservation and Safety

To ensure fairness and transparency, the government will release Expressions of Interest (EOIs) inviting proposals from interested entities across the country. These proposals will be reviewed based on the set guidelines. The proposed 50 food irradiation units are expected to provide preservation capacity of around 20 to 30 lakh metric tonnes per year, depending on the type of food. Meanwhile, the 100 new food testing labs, mostly under private ownership, will help improve food testing infrastructure and ensure that products meet national safety standards.