Farmers – Dutch Uncles

PMFME Scheme Empowering SMEs, Tribal Women And Rural Farmers

DU Desk — Fri, 13 Aug 2021 10:35:08 +0000

The central government has introduced several schemes and initiatives to promote entrepreneurship among tribal and rural farmers in the agriculture industry. These schemes are bringing together self-help groups among farming communities and enabling them to become financially independent and technologically savvy.

What is the PMFME scheme?

The Prime Minister’s Formalisation of Micro Food Enterprises (PMFME) scheme is a central and state government scheme for farmers. Under this scheme, aspiring entrepreneurs in the agriculture sector can avail INR 10 Lakh in funding to start their business. Aimed at doubling the income of farmers, PMFME is implemented under the ‘One District One Product’ program. The scheme became operational in 2021-2021 and will go on until 2024-25, facilitating the setup of 2 lakh micro processing units during the period of 5 years.

Support for micro food enterprises

Credit linked subsidy

Micro food processing enterprises will receive upgrade support by the Government through PMFME scheme. The enterprises will be set up or upgraded through credit linked subsidy. The enterprises will also enjoy financial, technical, and business support. Eligible projects can avail credit-linked capital subsidy at 35% of the project cost with a maximum ceiling of INR 10 Lakh per unit.

Capacity building or training support

Enterprises availing capital investment as well as other existing units will be provided capacity building or training support in the following focus areas

Areas of focus

- - - Entrepreneurship development
    - Marketing
    - Bookkeeping
    - Registration
    - Compliance with FSSAI standards
    - Udyog Aadhar
    - GST Registration
    - General hygiene
    - Other essential functions

Specially designed training

The micro enterprise units will go through specially designed training for focus areas like machine operations, hygiene issues, procurement, packaging, storage, new product development, etc.

Success rate of the PMFME scheme

PMFME is a centrally sponsored scheme under the Aatmanirbhar Bharat initiative by the Ministry of Food Processing Industry (MoFPI). In the span of one year since its launch, PMFME has been implemented in 35 states and Union Territories. Milestones achieved in one year include launch of the GIS (Geographic Information System) digital map for all states and UTs. Agreements and MoUs (Memorandum of Understanding) were signed with 11 banks that are official lending partners of PMFME, and the Union Bank of India which is the Nodal Bank for the scheme. The National Rural Livelihood Mission sanctioned INR 25.25 Cr to 8040 SHG members (Self Help Group) as seed capital. MoUs were signed with NAFED (National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India) and TRIFED (Tribal Cooperative Marketing Federation of India) for Marketing and Branding support.

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The scheme became operational in 2021-2021 and will go on until 2024-25, facilitating the setup of 2 lakh micro processing units during the period of 5 years.The scheme became operational in 2021-2021 and will go on until 2024-25, facilitating the setup of 2 lakh micro processing units during the period of 5 years.

What’s in it for me?

Aspiring agriculture entrepreneurs who can leverage villagers and farmers to create food products will benefit from the scheme. Also, entrepreneurs who can empower tribal farmers by purchasing raw material directly from them and using branding and digital marketing will benefit from the incentives.

PMFME has been very beneficial for self-help groups and groups of farmers. It’s empowering rural and tribal farmers and women to assume leadership roles. By utilising the incentives and benefits from the scheme they can improve the financial conditions and work towards the collective welfare of their communities. But more importantly, co-founders and individual entrepreneurs of agricultural enterprises who are non-farmers can apply for the PMFME scheme and directly empower the underprivileged sections like tribal women and impoverished farmers. Your enterprise can create food products like packaged spices, ethnic coffee, etc. for which you will no doubt be needing expert hands and the experience of these rural farmers.

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Agri-Tech May Benefit with the Recent Fertiliser Subsidy

Anju Nambiar — Thu, 29 Jul 2021 05:35:07 +0000

Fertiliser is one of the prime components of Agriculture or Agri-tech. Without a steady supply of fertiliser, crops won’t grow within the stipulated time and harvest gets impacted. But the global price hike on commonly used fertilisers and their raw materials have forced domestic manufacturers to sell at raised prices. This could have led to a severe farming crisis. With the Government’s timely intervention, farmers will be supported during this price surge so that they can continue acquiring fertilisers at the old rates.

Government increases Fertiliser Subsidy Outlay

The Government has recently allocated an additional amount of INR 14775 Cr as fertiliser subsidy for farmers. A stimulus package of INR 6.29 Lakh Cr was announced which comprises Government guarantee to banks and microfinance institutions for loans.

How Agri-Tech will benefit

The fertiliser subsidy will particularly benefit the Agri-Tech sector by helping farmers. It will ensure that the sale price for farmers remains unchanged with the wavering of international prices on inputs. Also, the stimulus package is mainly aimed at helping Covid hit sectors revive, Agri-tech in particular.

How Farmers from North-Eastern states will benefit

The fertiliser subsidy announcement will also prove to be beneficial for North-Eastern states and farmers in this region. As part of the stimulus package, the Government is also looking to revive the Northeastern Regional Agricultural Marketing Corporation (NERAMAC). This move will help farmers in eight north-eastern states obtain remunerative prices for their agriculture-horticulture produce.

5 ways the updates will impact stakeholders

DAP (Di-Ammonium Phosphate) fertiliser has achieved a subsidy hike of 137%. This will balance out the retail price hike previously rolled out by fertiliser manufacturers. The subsidy hike is set at INR 1211.55 for every 50-kilogram bag from an earlier rate of INR 511.55.
DAP is the second common fertiliser in the agriculture sector standing second to Urea in terms of sale quantity. The subsidy scheme affects DAP uniquely since the Government has provided a fixed per tonne subsidy to this fertiliser. Which means that the MRP on it is decontrolled, variable and mostly decided by the manufacturers. However, the subsidy remains static.

All other non-urea fertilisers will attract Nutrient based Subsidy (NBS) with variable rates. Depending on the content of nutrients like Nitrogen (N), Phosphorous (P) and Sulphur (S) in the fertiliser, the per-tonne NBS rates vary.

A farming crisis has been thwarted by the Government with the subsidy hike. The raised subsidy of DAP will protect farmers against surging prices of the substance owing to global increase in cost of raw materials.

Rise in price of DAP would have severely affected Indian farmers since growing crops like Soyabean that need DAP fertiliser would cost an average of INR 1900 or higher.

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A stimulus package of INR 6.29 Lakh Cr was announced which comprises Government guarantee to banks and microfinance institutions for loans.

What’s in it for me?

The fertiliser subsidy has come at the right time since it will cushion prices for farmers when rising global rates have prompted manufacturers of fertilisers to hike prices. Setup and running costs will considerably reduce for agri-tech with the subsidy hike and farmers will not have to bear the brunt of international price hikes on fertilisers and their raw materials.

This decision by the Government is largely in the farmers’ interest. It’s also a one-time measure to mitigate Covid impact. The stimulus package will be in place until the global price hike on fertiliser sustains. There is hope for prices to return to their original rates during which time the Government will once again undertake a review and revision of the subsidy. The timing is crucial since the kharif sowing season is upon the Agri-tech industry and during this time, the stakeholders needed the support from the Government.

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Is India Still an Ideal Open Market?

DU Desk — Wed, 28 Apr 2021 06:05:04 +0000

It all began in the year starting 2000 – India’s internet exploded and everyone, including the big tech, came in to grab a piece of that pie. The global tech giants, including Facebook, WhatsApp, Twitter and Google, provided India with powerful platforms to transact, seek and express information and consume entertainment while accelerating their own user base.

This honeymoon period, however, now seems to be fading for these companies. Something seems to have changed in the past few years. There is a common global sentiment – “Put a leash on big tech (social media platforms)”.

Countries have been seeking stronger regulations of social media platforms, some even banning them. Similar has been the case in India. Recently, the Indian government ordered Twitter and Facebook to take down 100 posts critical of its coronavirus handling. This comes two months after similar orders were passed to take down accounts and posts with negative narrative on farmers protests. In February 2021, the ministry came out with new rules and regulations for social media, which were criticised for being “anti-national and unconstitutional, suppressing freedom of speech”.

This brings us to an important question – Do regulations undermine the idealism of an open market in a country? The answer is no. Regulation is good. But the agenda behind it needs to be clear and not created to suit a particular narrative.

Tightening the Noose: What the Government Says?

While passing the recent orders to take down the 100 posts, Communications, Electronics and Information Technology Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said, “We respect social media a lot, it has empowered common people. Social media has a big role in the Digital India Programme. However, if social media are misused to spread fake news and violence, then action will be taken on the misuse of social media in India whether Twitter or else.”

“There is freedom of speech but Article 19A says that this is subject to reasonable restrictions,” he said, adding that all the social media platforms will have to adhere to the Constitution of India which allows criticism of the government and the Prime Minister, but spreading fake news will not be allowed.

While the government came under criticism to create “unreasonable barriers” for big tech firms, the government itself counter questioned these firms by saying that they apply different parameters for different countries.

“Different parameters can’t be allowed for different countries. It can’t be different for the Capitol Hill incident and some other parameters for the Red Fort incident.”

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How can something that is freely expressed verbally in public or on other media platforms be “unlawful” for social media platforms

“Tweets must continue to flow…”

Twitter chose to remain defiant and issued a public statement that the safety of its employees was a top priority, but that the “tweets must continue to flow”.

In a statement, Twitter had informed that in such cases, a legal request is usually reviewed under both Twitter rules and local laws. If the content violates Twitter’s Rules, it is removed. If it is found to be illegal in a particular jurisdiction, but not in violation of the Twitter Rules, the company withholds access to the content in India only and the account holders are notified.

In today’s scenario, for a market to be open and ideal, regulations play an important role. As mentioned earlier, regulations are good, given the agenda and reasons behind them are clear. In India’s case, this is somewhat distorted. It’s a grey area when it comes to operating laws for social media platforms.

How can something that is freely expressed verbally in public or on other media platforms be “unlawful” for social media platforms. Moreover, is it the law of India or is it the law of the country where the parent company is based? Or, is it the ‘law’ as framed by the company, regardless of the law(s) of either the parent or the host country.

These unexplained questions dilute the idealism of an open market. “Selective” censor of tweets /posts /accounts /hashtags further undermine the transparency and purpose of the regulations. This is more hurtful for a country like India which is known for its vibrant democracy.

We can Chain them, but can we do without them?

An ideal open market is a long gone concept as “businesses” are at stake now. Governments across the global, including the US and Australia, are looking to regulate big tech firms but are also open to doing deals with them.

In some cases, big social media platforms and apps losing access to the Indian market may not be as big of an impact for the company than for the Indian government which relies heavily on them for global interactions and pushes forward its own messages and narrative. It goes both ways. Ideal or non-ideal, the business will continue as usual for nations.

The post Is India Still an Ideal Open Market? appeared first on Dutch Uncles.

DeHaat, Disrupting the Indian AgTech Space.

Anju Nambiar — Tue, 13 Apr 2021 06:35:04 +0000

DeHaat, an Indian Agtech start-up is being hailed as a revolution. India’s Agriculture sector, which was once its problematic backbone, is now undergoing a complete transformation. Thanks to AgTech start-ups that are swooping in and closing every single gap in the industry which has remained open for way too long.

DeHaat, a Gurgaon-based start-up is especially important because it comes in the league of one of the highest valued Agtech firms in India.

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DeHaat’s portfolio of services caters to the needs of farmers. It’s a fine example of a start-up that’s fostering ‘Atmanirbharta’ among Indian farmers in the true sense.

Agtech Start-up that’s helping farmers

DeHaat’s portfolio of services are designed to benefit Indian farmers. The company provides input access to farmers regarding high quality material. They also provide scientific, personalized advisory about optimum farming conditions. The physical presence of the start-up encompasses a chain of Agricultural centre franchises run by ‘micro-entrepreneurs’ also called ‘coordinators’. These micro-entrepreneurs or coordinators are responsible for interacting with farmers and building trust with them. The most important service which the company is extending to farmers is to support produce sales for institutional buyers. DeHaat is a fine example of a start-up that’s fostering ‘Atmanirbharta’ among Indian farmers in the true sense.

They aspired to go beyond ‘farm-to-fork’ and have coined their own ‘Bheej-to-Bazaar’ (Seed-to-market) concept.

Business Model

The company’s business model is built on the vision of creating a one-stop solution for farmers. They are bridging the gap between farmers and technology. Through a ‘Click-to-Mortar’ (Physical + Digital) medium, they are providing valuable information like pest and disease management through the combination of Mobile App + Contact Centre. On the other hand, their physical rural retail network is offering last-mile delivery for farmers across the country.

As the first touchpoint, advisory services can be freely availed by using the DeHaat app or by getting in touch with the contact centre. If a farmer wishes to pay, they will be onboarded to avail inputs, produce sales, Soil Testing and Weather Reports services at fair and reasonable pricing.

True disruptor in Agtech

A true disruptor in Agtech, DeHaat attempts at ‘redefining’ the problem statement for Indian farmers. They are actively trying to change the perception around Indian farmers by shedding light on their needs, rather than their challenges.

Farmers want to know the best crops to grow depending on the season, location, temperature, and conditions. They also need key information about seed linkages, quantity of fertilisers and pesticides. Farmers are also in need of infrastructure, machinery, tools, and services like funding, insurance, and more.

By providing them all of these things, DeHaat has managed to do what none of the Agtech start-ups have done till date.

DeHaat’s funding revolution

DeHaat was founded 8 years ago. On April 6 2020, they received $12 M in a Series A funding round backed by Sequoia Capital. Which is interesting because it goes to show their relevance in the thick of the pandemic.

In January of this year, they received $30M in a Series C funding round backed by both new and existing investors including Prosus, Sequoia Capital India, FMO, Omnivore, and AgFunder. The company has received a total funding of 49.3M up until January of 2021.

What’s in it for me?

The biggest lesson that start-ups can learn from this success story is that solving real problems in the Agriculture sector can make you a true disruptor.

The Indian Agtech Market is expected to be valued at $24.1 B by 2025, so the potential is high in this sector.

There are gaping holes in the market waiting to be filled by disruptive start-ups. To do this, your start-up must solve a real problem, meet a challenge, bridge a gap.

For instance, modern farm technologies are still inaccessible by a majority of the Agricultural sector. Although Agtech start-ups are slowly introducing technologies to the market, if as a start-up you manage to unlock access on a large scale just like DeHaat is doing, you can become a disruptor.

The post DeHaat, Disrupting the Indian AgTech Space. appeared first on Dutch Uncles.

New Regulations for Social Media: How will it Change the Way Google, Facebook and Twitter Operate in the country

Aakash Sharma — Sat, 06 Mar 2021 10:35:05 +0000

On February 26, 2021, the Indian government passed a bill to introduce new regulations for social media, digital media (including news outlets) and OTT platforms operating in India. These recent changes come at a time when technological developments in the country are pushing innovation and entire sectors amidst a pandemic exacerbated by the economic crisis.

What transpired in the lead up to the new regulations for social media platforms?

On February 10, 2021, Indian officials held a virtual meeting with the top leaders of Twitter. Government officials outlined that the social media giant is “welcome to do business in India,” but it had to follow the country’s laws “irrespective of Twitter’s own rules and guidelines”.

The meeting was the outcome of tensions between the Bharatiya Janata Party government and Twitter. The Modi government’s passage of new farm laws has ignited protests that are going on for nearly five months now. The government had asked Twitter to remove provocative hashtags and tweets from accounts used by alleged Sikh and Pakistani separatist groups.

Twitter outright pleaded that it would not block the accounts of media companies, journalists, activists and politicians because that would amount to the violation of the fundamental right to free expression under Indian law.

New rules and regulations- bringing everything under the government’s ambit

According to the new government regulations of February 26, 2021, intermediaries such as WhatsApp must identify the first “author” of the content and messages deemed a threat by the government. All such platforms will have to remove illegal content within 36 hours of receiving notification. The government issued these new rules in addition to the Information Technology Act 2000. The government clarified that it is not asking the intermediary to break any encryption by seeking to know the originator of the message.

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The government's motives behind these new rules seem to be that of a monitoring agency rather than an inhibitor of business.

New rules for social media sites- how will they function in the future?

New government regulations governing internet businesses such as Facebook, WhatsApp and Twitter pose new challenges for the US social media giants in a large Indian market critical to their global reach.

Social media companies must revoke and takedown explicit porn-related content within 24 hours of reporting under the new rules. The companies are also expected to appoint agents and work with people living in India to coordinate law enforcement and handle complaints. They also need to help identify the “first real sender” of specific messages that pose some form of threat.

Representatives for Facebook and WhatsApp said Facebook has “always been clear as a company that we welcome regulations that set guidelines for addressing today’s toughest challenges on the Internet.”

How can the new changes impact SMEs running and advertising on social media platforms?

The new regulations majorly bring content assets and targeted content that can potentially harm the civil discourse and violate the Indian law under the purview. There does not seem to be an adversarial impact on the small businesses running via social media. Numerous small businesses have benefited from the campaigns and advertisement services offered by initiatives like Facebook for Business, Google Shops, Instagram Shop, Twitter ad campaigns.

The government’s motives behind these new rules seem to be that of a monitoring agency rather than an inhibitor of business. These mega-corporations bring vast opportunities for Indian people and continue to do so as long as no laws are violated. Nevertheless, what the future holds for businesses and content creators on these platforms cannot be ascertained. What can be said is that there is no immediate threat to any SME running through these platforms.

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