Fisheries industry gets a Rs 7,522 crore boost

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) on Wednesday approved the creation of special Fisheries and Aquaculture Infrastructure Development Fund (FIDF) to help farmers explore new avenues of income generation.

The approval entails an estimated fund size of Rs 7,522 crore, comprising Rs 5,266.40 crore to be raised by the Nodal Loaning Entities (NLEs), Rs 1,316.6 crore beneficiaries' contribution and Rs 939.48 crore budgetary support from the Centre.

The move will help facilitate, both marine and inland fisheries sectors and will also augment fish production to achieve its target of 15 million tonnes by 2020 set under the Blue Revolution; and to achieve a sustainable growth of eight to nine per cent, thereafter to reach the fish production to the level of about 20 MMT by 2022-23.

According to the Cabinet note, the scheme will provide employment opportunities to over 9.40 lakh people and other entrepreneurs in fishing and allied activities.

The FIDF would provide concessional finance to state governments/UTs and state entities, cooperatives, individuals and entrepreneurs etc., for taking up of the identified investment activities of fisheries development.

Under FIDF, loan lending will be over a period of five years from 2018-19 to 2022-23 and maximum repayment will be over a period of 12 years, inclusive of moratorium of two years on repayment of principal.

Financing Projects

The FIDF will provide concessional finance to state governments/UTs and state entities, cooperatives, individuals and entrepreneurs etc., for taking up identified investment activities