Parliament Question: World’s largest grain storage plan

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF COOPERATION RAJYA SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO. 203 ANSWERED ON 11th MARCH, 2026 World’s largest grain storage plan 203 # Shri Baburam Nishad: Will the Minister of COOPERATION be pleased to state: (a) the criteria for the selection of Primary Agricultural Credit Society (PACS) under the world's largest grain storage plan in the cooperative sector; (b) the financial assistance and subsidy provided to PACS under the scheme; and (c) the manner in which National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) and State Cooperative Banks provide assistance? ANSWER THE MINISTER OF COOPERATION (SHRI AMIT SHAH) (a) to (c): A statement is laid on the Table of the House.STATEMENT REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PARTS (a) TO (b) IN RESPECT OF RAJYA SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO. 203 FOR REPLY ON 11TH MARCH, 2026 ASKED BY SHRI BABURAM NISHAD REGARDING WORLD’S LARGEST GRAIN STORAGE PLAN. (a): The key criteria for selection of Primary Agricultural Credit Societies (PACS) under the World’s Largest Grain Storage Plan in the Cooperative Sector include that PACS must be identified and approved through the District Cooperative Development Committees (DCDC). Identification of PACS should be undertaken in such locations identified by agencies such as Food Corporation of India (FCI), National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India Ltd. (NAFED), National Cooperative Consumers' Federation of India Ltd. (NCCF) etc., where there is an established demand for storage/ storage gap and are suitable for the agencies to provide hiring assurance. In addition, the net worth of the PACS should be positive during the last two financial years, the PACS should not be a bank defaulter, the PACS should have been profitable during the last three consecutive financial years, the cumulative profit during the last three years should be more than ₹5 lakh preferably, and the minimum storage capacity of the proposed godown should preferably be 500 MT or above. (b) and (c): The Plan is being implemented at PACS/ other cooperative societies level through convergence of various existing schemes of the Government of India (GoI), such as, Agriculture Infrastructure Fund (AIF), Agricultural Marketing Infrastructure Scheme (AMI), Sub Mission on Agricultural Mechanization (SMAM), Pradhan Mantri Formalization of Micro Food Processing Enterprises Scheme (PMFME), etc. Under the AIF Scheme the benefit of interest subvention is given to the PACS against the loan taken for construction of godowns and under AMI Scheme 33% subsidy is given for the construction of foodgrain storage. NABARD is the subsidy channelising agency for the World’s Largest Grain Storage Plan projects under AMI and sanctions and releases subsidy under the scheme. State Cooperative Banks (StCBs) and District Central Cooperative Banks (DCCBs) act as the primary lending institutions for PACS under this initiative. They are responsible for sanctioning and disbursing credit to PACS in a time‑bound manner, as specified in the implementation framework. The Plan utilizes NABARD's special refinance scheme to significantly reduce the financial burden on participating cooperatives. When combined with the 3% interest subvention available under the AIF, the effective loan interest rate for PACS is reduced to 1% under World’s Largest Grain Storage Plan. Further, some States such as Rajasthan and Gujarat are providing financial support for godown construction under the project through their own State level schemes. ****