India to spend $32 million on online agri platforms

India will be investing $32 million on promotion of national agricultural market through agri-tech infrastructure fund (ATIF) to be implemented during 2014-15 to 2016-17.

The scheme which has been approved by Agriculture and Cooperation (DAC) aims to create an appropriate e-market platform that would be deployable in wholesale regulated markets across States and Union Territories (UTs), Indian minister of state, Mohanbhai Kundaria said recently.
The platform will enable development of an alternative marketing channel, enhance transparency in auction process and number of buyers, resolve information asymmetry, improve market access by integrating warehouse based sales and will facilitate migration towards a barrier free National Market, the minister stressed.

The scheme, would facilitate setting up of a competitive and transparent system, reduce the role of middlemen and unfair trade practices in the marketing of agricultural produce and thereby enable farmers to get better prices for their produce.
However, the guidelines for the online agri platform are yet to be formulated, Kundaria revealed.