On Monday, the State Agriculture Minister, Ganesh Joshi, formally inaugurated the process of distributing subsidies through the digital payment system—CBDC—under the NABARD Polyhouse Scheme at his camp office. During the event, he launched the CBDC digital payment system by symbolically making digital payments into the accounts of farmers. He stated that, under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami, this scheme would play a pivotal role in realizing the objective of doubling farmers’ income.
Speaking on the occasion, the Agriculture Minister noted that, as an innovative initiative by the Horticulture Department, a digital payment system has been implemented under NABARD’s RIDF scheme—specifically for the cluster-based small polyhouse installation program—to ensure that farmers receive benefits with 100 percent transparency. He explained that, under this process, farmers would submit their applications online through the “Apuni Sarkar” portal. Following the verification of applications and on-site inspections by the department, CBDC vouchers will be issued to eligible farmers.
The Agriculture Minister further stated that a system for distributing subsidies via digital payments is also being implemented under the Horticulture Department for the High-Density Apple Cultivation and Kiwi policies. He clarified that the value of the CBDC vouchers would remain in a “locked status” until the polyhouse construction work is completed and verified. Upon verification, the payment will be released into the account of the respective firm or company, thereby ensuring the proper utilization of the funds. He added that, under NABARD’s RIDF scheme, farmers are being provided with a subsidy of up to 80 percent for small polyhouses ranging in size from 50 to 100 square meters. A sanction of ₹304.43 crore has been received for this scheme. The subsidy will be disbursed in three installments through CBDC vouchers.
Agriculture Minister Ganesh Joshi mentioned that, to ensure the effective implementation of the scheme, 25 firms and companies have been registered; farmers are free to have their polyhouses constructed through any of these registered firms, as per their convenience. Furthermore, this digital wallet-based system will ensure that subsidies reach the beneficiaries directly in a transparent and reliable manner. Agriculture Minister Ganesh Joshi expressed confidence that this initiative would not only assist in enhancing farmers’ incomes but also accelerate the economic progress of the state. He directed officials to ensure that payments under various schemes of the Agriculture and Horticulture Departments are processed through CBDC, thereby maintaining transparency and timeliness. Minister Joshi stated that, to ensure farmers derive the maximum benefit from these schemes, comprehensive training and awareness campaigns should be conducted down to the block level, enabling the widest possible number of farmers to benefit from these initiatives.
Present on this occasion were Secretary of Agriculture Dr. S.N. Pandey, Director of Horticulture Sundar Lal Semwal, ITDA Director Alok Kumar Pandey, Arvind Kumar from the RBI, Archana Shukla and Pranjal Vajpayee from Union Bank, NABARD DGM Abhinav Kapri, Joint Directors of the Horticulture Department Dr. Ratan Kumar, Mahendra Pal, and Narendra Yadav, and CAP Director Nripendra Chauhan, along with various district-level officials and farmers
