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4.47. The Interest Subvention Scheme (Kisan Credit Card Scheme) for farmers aims to provide short-term credit to farmers at subsidized interest rates. The Scheme came into force in 2006/07 and is being continued in 2018/19 and 2019/20. The subvention varies according to the type of loan; there are loans for short-term crops, post-harvest loans, and relief for farmers affected by natural disasters. (...)

4.48. The Agriculture Infrastructure Fund was established in 2020 for funding infrastructure projects. It will provide an interest subvention of 3% per year for seven years for short-term agricultural loans of up to INR 20 million for post-harvest management projects. [70]

[70] Including supply-chain services, such as e-marketing platforms, warehouses, silos, pack-houses, assaying units, sorting and grading units, cold chains, logistics facilities, primary processing centres, ripening chambers, and other viable projects for building community farming assets, such as organic input production, bio-stimulant production units, infrastructure for smart and precision agriculture, and supply-chain infrastructure for clusters of crops, including for export. Department of Agriculture, Cooperation & Farmers Welfare, Circular regarding FAQs on implementation of Central Sector Scheme of Financing Facility under Agriculture Infrastructure Fund. Viewed at: http://agricoop.nic.in/sites/default/files/FAQs%20on%20AIF.pdf.

4.49. To provide relief to farmers affected by natural calamities [72], an interest subvention of 2% is available to banks on restructured loans for the first year. An additional subvention of 2% is available to banks for three years and up to a maximum of five years, to provide relief to farmers affected by severe natural disasters. (...)

[72] The granting of such benefits in cases of severe natural calamities is determined by the High-Level Committee, based on the recommendations of the Inter-Ministerial Central Team and the Sub-Committee of the National Executive Committee.

4.52. In the fisheries sector, the Marine Products Export Development Authority (MPEDA), provides assistance for the production and export of fish products (Table 4.5). To increase trust in its fish products, India established a traceability system for both cultivated and captured products, through a producers' registry; it also implemented a catch certification scheme, to prevent and discourage illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing. (...)

Table 4.5 Measures to increase fish production and exports
Financial assistance:
To owners of fishing vessels, to install insulated fish holds/refrigerated seawater systems/ice-making machinery, for better preservation of catch.
(...)
To set up common facilities so that small farmers may adopt sustainable practices to cultivate shrimp. For the cost of inputs (e.g. seed, feed and fencing) to promote crab farming.
Financial/technical assistance to promote the production of species such as cobia, genetically improved farmed tilapia (GIFT), high-health tiger shrimp, and sea bass.
(...)

Table 4.5 Measures to increase fish production and exports
(...)
Extension services/R&D:
(...)
Extension education programmes, to promote conservation and sustainable fishing, with a special focus on small-scale fish farmers.
(...)

4.53. India is the third-largest producer and consumer of electricity in the world. Since 2014/15, consumption of electricity has increased sharply, to over 1 million GWh (Table 4.6). The industrial sector remains the largest consumer; as a result, a programme for industries, such as aluminium, cement, fertilizer, iron and steel, pulp and paper, and textile, to become more energy-efficient was implemented. (...)

4.55. In India, both the central and state governments supervise the electricity sector. The Ministry of Power formulates the National Electricity Policy and the Tariff Policy, following the advice of the Central Electricity Authority (CEA) and the states. The CEA formulates the National Electricity Plan to implement the Policy's objectives. Other central government agencies that intervene in the energy sector include the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE); and the Department of Atomic Energy.

4.57. India's policy objectives regarding energy are to ensure reliable access to energy ("24x7 Power for All") at affordable rates, and transition to renewable sources (Box 4.2). During the period under review, the transition to renewable energies, especially solar and wind, accelerated to attain economic, social, and climate-related objectives. [85] As at March 2020, India had an installed renewable energy capacity of 87.91 GW.

[85] NITI Aayog/International Energy Agency/Asian Development Bank (2018), The Indian Power Sector, Workshop Report 2018. Viewed at: https://niti.gov.in/writereaddata/files/document_publication/Workshop- Report-2018-The-Indian-Power-Sector-Low-Carbon-Strategy-for-Renewable-Energy-Integration.pdf.

4.61. (...) A licence is not required to generate electricity. However, hydro-power projects, if capital expenditure exceeds a certain threshold (currently INR 10 billion), must be approved by the Central Electricity Authority (CEA), which assesses the long-term viability and the environmental impact of the projects. (...)