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State becomes eligible for second agri fund instalment
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Thursday, 30 July, 2026, 08 : 00 AM [IST]
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Our Bureau, Mumbai
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The Government of India is set to release the second instalment of Rs 335 crore to Maharashtra under the Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana (RKVY) after the state became the first in the country to qualify by achieving more than 75 per cent utilisation of the funds released earlier. The decision was discussed during a virtual review meeting chaired by Union Minister for Agriculture and Farmers' Welfare Shivraj Singh Chouhan. The meeting was attended by Maharashtra Agriculture Minister Dattatray Bharane, along with senior officials from the Centre and the state government.
During the review, Chouhan said the Centre had earlier released Rs 335 crore as the first instalment under RKVY to Maharashtra, of which the state has utilised around Rs 260 crore, surpassing the prescribed 75 per cent utilisation benchmark. As a result, the process for releasing the second instalment of Rs 335 crore has been initiated.
Congratulating the Maharashtra government, the Union Minister said the state was the first to become eligible for the second instalment under the scheme, attributing the achievement to the effective implementation of agricultural development programmes.
He emphasised that timely expenditure of public funds should be accompanied by continuous monitoring to ensure that allocations are utilised strictly for their intended objectives. Chouhan also commended Maharashtra's progress in generating Farmer IDs and recalled the state's swift response in providing flood relief, with nearly Rs 14,000 crore transferred directly to farmers' bank accounts within five days.
Reviewing the implementation of various RKVY components, the Minister expressed satisfaction with progress under the Mission for Integrated Development of Horticulture (MIDH). However, he urged the state to accelerate fund utilisation under the Digital Agriculture, Agriculture Extension, the National Horticulture Mission (NHM), and the Seeds, Oilseeds, and Agroforestry components. He also advised Maharashtra to clear pending liabilities under the Seeds component to improve overall utilisation.
The meeting also reviewed the implementation of the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY). Chouhan stressed the importance of accurate information disclosure by farmers when applying for crop insurance. He clarified that both Kisan Credit Card (KCC) and non-KCC farmers are eligible for crop insurance benefits, but urged applicants not to conceal their KCC status by applying through other accounts.
According to the Minister, the proposed declaration on the crop insurance portal is intended to improve transparency and ensure the correctness of information rather than restrict benefits to eligible farmers. He added that accurate disclosure is also important as the Centre provides significant financial support under the Kisan Credit Card scheme through interest subvention and incentives for timely repayment.
Expressing confidence in Maharashtra's performance, Chouhan said the state is expected to further improve implementation across the remaining RKVY components and continue contributing to the growth of India's agriculture sector.
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