Parliament Question: Promotion of Agricultural Startups

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION No. 4347 TO BE ANSWERED ON 19th AUGUST, 2025 PROMOTION OF AGRICULTURAL STARTUPS 4347. Shri Dharambir Singh: Will the Minister of AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE कृ िष एवं िकसान क(cid:670)ाण मं(cid:361)ी be pleased to state: (a) whether the Government has identified Rural Innovation Centres to promote agricultural startups among youth and if so, the details of such identified centres; (b) whether these centres are providing early-stage funding, technical mentorship and marketing support to agri-startups, if so, the structure and scale of such assistance; (c) whether collaboration initiatives have been launched between agri-startups and agricultural universities or Krishi Vigyan Kendras (KVKs), if so, the number of functional partnerships; (d) whether such innovation centres are operational in aspirational districts like Bhiwani and Charkhi Dadri to ensure inclusive development; and (e) whether a dedicated Agri-Startup Portal is available for application, funding access and real-time progress tracking, if so, the functionalities and coverage of this portal may be provided ANSWER MINISTER OF STATE FOR AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE कृ िष एवं िकसान क(cid:670)ाण रा(cid:475) मं(cid:361)ी (SHRI RAM NATH THAKUR) (a): To promote innovation and agri-entrepreneurship, Department of Agriculture and Farmers' Welfare is implementing “Innovation and Agri-Entrepreneurship Development” programme by providing financial and technical support under the Pradhan Mantri- Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana (PM-RKVY) from 2018-19. 5 Knowledge Partners (KPs) and 24 RKVY Agribusiness Incubators (R-ABIs) have been identified and appointed for providing implementation assistance, training and support to startups under this programme. The list of these KPs and R-ABIs is at Annexure-I (b): Under the programme, trainings, technical mentorship, marketing and funding supports are provided to the selected start-ups through the respective KP or R-ABIs to launch their products, services, business platforms, etc in the market and to facilitate them in scaling up their products and operations to attain business viability. The financial support upto Rs. 5 lakhs at the idea/pre seed stage and upto Rs. 25 lakhs at the seed stage are provided to selected startups.(c): KPs/RABIs collaborate with various host universities, Krishi Vigyan Kendras (KVKs), Research & ICAR Institutes to support startup for product validation, field trials, technology dissemination, etc. Multiple functional partnerships have been established to strengthen these initiatives to support start-ups by collaborating with relevant agricultural stakeholders. These KVKs and Institutions support startups by conducting field trials, facilitate technology dissemination, and carry out extension activities, etc. The number of these functional partnership/collaborations of KPs & R-ABIs with KVKs/Universities/Intuitions to support startups is at Annexure-II (d): Chaudhary Charan Singh Haryana Agricultural University, Hisar is a R-ABI to cover outreach to startups/entrepreneurs from Haryana including aspirational districts like Bhiwani and Charkhi Dadri. Besides this the startups may also seek support from the 5 KPs established under the programme. Primary incubation facilities are located at Hisar and innovators are engaged through awareness programmes, virtual mentoring, capacity-building workshops and field demonstrations conducted in collaboration with KVKs of Haryana. (e): A dedicated portal (https://agristartup.gov.in/) at central level has been developed for startups. Besides this, the respective KP and R-ABI have their own websites which are used for advertisement of applications, monitoring of fund release, expenditure & utilization, startups progress reports, etc. Sanctions generated for the startups are uploaded on the portal for disbursal of the funds.Annexure-I The list of 5 Knowledge Partners (KPs) and 24 RKVY-Agribusiness Incubators (R-ABIs) from across the country appointed by DA & FW are as follows: I. 5 Knowledge Partners (KPs): (1) National Institute of Agricultural Extension Management (MANAGE), Hyderabad, (2) National Institute of Agricultural Marketing(NIAM) Jaipur, (3) Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI) Pusa, New Delhi, (4) University of Agriculture Science , Dharwad, Karnataka and (5) Assam Agriculture University, Jorhat, Assam II. 24 RKVY Agribusiness Incubators (R-ABIs): 1) Chaudhary Charan Singh University, Hisar, Haryana 2) CSK Himachal Pradesh Krishi Vishvavidyalaya, Palampur, Himachal Pradesh 3) IIT-BHU, Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh 4) Jawaharlal Nehru Krishi Vishwavidyalaya, Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh 5) ICAR-Indian Veterinary Research Institute, Izatnagar, Bareilly, Uttar Pradesh 6) Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, Punjab 7) Indira Gandhi Krishi Vishwavidyalaya, Raipur, Chhattisgarh 8) Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology, Jammu, J & K 9) IIM, Kashipur, Uttarakhand 10) Kerala Agricultural University, Thrissur, Kerala 11) ICAR-Indian Institute of Millets Research, Hyderabad, Telangana 12) Tamil Nadu Agricultural University (TNAU), Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu 13) Agri innovation and entrepreneurship cell, ANGRAU, Andhra Pradesh 14) National Rice Research Institute, Cuttack, Odisha 15) S K N Agriculture University, Jobner, Rajasthan 16) Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur, West Bengal 17) Bihar Agricultural University, Bhagalpur, Bihar 18) Anand Agricultural University, Anand, Gujarat 19) ICAR-Central Institute for Research on Cotton Technology, Mumbai, Maharashtra 20) Dr. Panjabrao Deshmukh Krishi Vidyapeeth, Akola, Maharashtra 21) ICAR-NIVEDI, Bengaluru, Karnataka 22) College of Fisheries, Lembucherra, Tripura 23) Veterinary Medicine College of Veterinary Sciences &Animal Husbandry, Mizoram 24) College of Horticulture & Forestry, Pasighat, Arunachal Pradesh.Annexure-II Details of functional partnership/collaborations of KPs & R-ABIs with KVKs/Universities/Intuitions to support startups Sl. Name of KPs / R-ABIs Number of functional partnership No. 1 National Institute of Agricultural 8 Universities across 8 states Extension Management (MANAGE), Hyderabad (KP) 2 Indian Agricultural Research Institute Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), (IARI) Pusa, New Delhi (KP) Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh 3 Assam Agricultural University, Jorhat 23 Krishi Vigyan Kendras (KVKs) (KP) across 23 districts of Assam 4 University of Agriculture Science , 1 KVK, Sirsi, Karnataka Dharwad, Karnataka (KP) 5 Punjab Agricultural University, 18 KVKs in Punjab Ludhiana, Punjab (R-ABI) 6 Indira Gandhi Krishi Vishwavidyalaya, 28 KVKs across Chhattisgarh Raipur, Chhattisgarh 2 Institutions (IIT, Kanpur & IIM, Calcutta) 7 Sher-e-Kashmir University of 9 KVKs in Jammu region Agricultural Sciences and Technology, Jammu, Jammu & Kashmir 8 CSK Himachal Pradesh Krishi 8 KVKs of Himachal region Vishvavidyalaya, Palampur, Himachal Pradesh 9 Indian Institute of Management (IIM), 5 KVKs Kashipur, Uttarakhand 3 universities 10 Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), 1 university BHU, Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh 11 ICAR-Central Institute for Research 1 State University - Mahatma Phule on Cotton Technology, Mumbai, Krishi Vidyapeeth (MPKV), Rahuri, Maharashtra Maharashtra 12 Bihar Agricultural University, 22 KVKs Bhagalpur, Bihar ****