The government has allocated Rs 200 crore for three years from 2015-16 to 2017-18 to set up an online national agriculture market by integrating 585 wholesale markets across India. The plan is to cover 250 mandis in current fiscal, 200 mandis in 2016-17 and 135 mandis in 2017-18.
The Rs 200 crore allocations includes provision for supplying software free of cost by agriculture department to the states and UTs and for cost of related hardware/ infrastructure to be subsidized by the Centre up to Rs 30 lakh per Mandi (other than for private mandis). The states of Madhya Pradesh, Chattisgarh, Orissa, Jharkhand and Gujarat have already agreed to join the scheme, while Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh are very keen to participate. The centre is also in discussions with Uttar Pradesh.
The Union Cabinet which was headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi had earlier approved a proposal for creation of a National Agriculture Market, a move that would help farmers realize better prices. The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) has approved a Central Sector Scheme for Promotion of National Agricultural Market through Agri-Tech Infrastructure Fund.