AgriSURE Scheme

• Context (PIB): On its 43^rd foundation day, NABARD announced the ‘Agri Fund for Start-Ups & Rural Enterprises’ (AgriSURE) fund.

About AgriSURE Scheme

• Type: Central Sector Fund
• Nodal Ministry: Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare
• Implementing Agency: National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD).
• Registered as a Category-II Alternative Investment Fund (AIF) with the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI).
• Total corpus of the Fund: ₹750 crore. ₹250 crore each is contributed by the Government of India & NABARD respectively & ₹250 crore to be mobilised from other institutions including private investors.
• Fund manager: NABVENTURES, a wholly-owned subsidiary of NABARD.
• Duration: Fund is designed to operate for ten years, extendable by two or more years.
• Investment Focus: The Fund intends to invest in Sector Specific AIFs, Sector Agnostic AIFs, Debt AIFs and Direct Equity Investment in Start-ups.
• It is structured to support approximately 85 start-ups with investment sizes of up to Rs 25 crore each.

The Fund has two schemes

AgriSURE – FoF Scheme

• Total corpus: ₹450 crore.
• Invest up to a maximum of 5% of the corpus of the AIF or ₹25 crore in one AIF, whichever is lower.
• Invest in SEBI-registered Sector agnostic, Sector-specific and Debt AIFs.
• Provide funding support to Category I and Category II AIFs investing in Start-ups in preferred sectors.

AgriSURE – Direct Scheme

• Total Corpus: ₹300 crore
• Invest in early-stage Start-ups recognized by Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade and are incorporated in India.
• Invest up to a maximum of ₹25 crore in a single Start-up, subject to AIF Regulations.

AgriSURE Greenathon 2024

• The hackathon by NABARD aims to address the high cost of advanced agriculture technologies under “Smart Agriculture on a Budget“.
• It also focuses on “Turning Agri-Waste into Profitable Business Opportunities” and “Tech Solutions Making Regenerative Agriculture Remunerative“.

National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD)

• NABARD was established in 1982 under an Act of Parliament as a wholly owned entity of the government of India on the recommendation of the B. Sivaraman committee.
• RBI’s agricultural credit functions and the refinance functions of the then-Agricultural Refinance and Development Corporation (ARDC) were transferred to NABARD.
• Its mission is to promote sustainable and equitable agriculture and rural development through participative financial and non-financial interventions, innovations, technology and institutional development.