New Delhi: Union Minister for Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution, Commerce and Industry and Textiles, Piyush Goyal, unveiled the ‘e-Kisan Upaj Nidhi’ (Digital Gateway) as part of the Warehousing Development and Regulatory Authority (WDRA) initiative. This digital platform aims to streamline warehousing logistics for farmers, ensuring fair prices and boosting income, particularly for small-scale farmers.
During the launch ceremony in New Delhi, Piyush Goyal expressed gratitude to farmers for their crucial role in securing the livelihoods of millions of Indians. He highlighted the ‘e-Kisan Upaj Nidhi’ as a technology-driven initiative that will alleviate the challenges faced by farmers in storing and selling their produce.
One key announcement made by the Minister is the reduction of security deposit charges at WDRA registered warehouses. Goyal stated that the security deposit would be lowered from 3% to 1%, specifically to encourage small farmers to leverage the facilities, subsequently enhancing their income.
“The ‘Digital Gateway’ initiative is a vital step towards making farming more attractive,” Goyal remarked. He emphasized that the ‘e-Kisan Upaj Nidhi’ initiative, with its no-collateral and reduced security deposit policy, aims to prevent distress sales by farmers, providing them with better post-harvest storage opportunities.
Piyush Goyal underscored the importance of the WDRA-monitored warehouses, highlighting their high ratings and robust infrastructure designed to protect farm produce, ultimately contributing to the welfare of farmers. He urged mandatory registration of warehouses used by the Food Corporation of India (FCI) under WDRA, along with the development of a roadmap to ensure state warehouses are infrastructure-ready.
Explaining the ‘e-Kisan Upaj Nidhi’ platform, the Minister detailed its simplified digital process, allowing farmers to store their produce at any registered WDRA warehouse for six months at 7% interest per annum. Shri Goyal set an ambitious target of registering 1 lakh warehouses on the portal, building on the success of the previous year where 1500 warehouses were registered.
Piyush Goyal emphasized that the combination of ‘e-Kisan Upaj Nidhi’ and e-NAM (National Agriculture Market) would empower farmers to tap into the benefits of an interconnected market beyond the government’s Minimum Support Price (MSP) procurement. He highlighted a 2.5 times increase in government procurement through MSPs over the last decade.
In a significant announcement, the Minister lauded the launch of the world’s largest cooperative food grain storage scheme and called on WDRA to propose free registration for all godowns under the cooperative sector. This move aims to further incentivize farmers to utilize WDRA facilities, ensuring they receive fair prices for their harvest, marking a milestone in India’s agricultural transformation.
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