MP Sahney demands enhancing AIF and release of RDF

Dr. Vikramjit Singh Sahney, Member of Rajya Sabha, today urged the Government to enhance the Agriculture Infrastructure Fund (AIF) interest-subvention project limit from Rs2 crore to Rs5 crore and to release Punjab’s long-pending Rural Development Fund (RDF).

Dr. Sahney raised the reduction and non-release of Rural Development Fund (RDF) and Market Development Fund (MDF) support to Punjab to the minister, noting that the levy linked to MSP procurement was cut from 6% to 2% in 2022 despite Punjab handling about 18 million tonnes of paddy and 12 million tonnes of wheat procurement annually—far higher than all the States. He emphasised that 64,724 km of rural link roads and 1,936 mandis in Punjab depend heavily on RDF/MDF resources and sought urgent Centre–State coordination to resolve the issue.

Dr. Sahney also requested the sitting finance minister there in the house for her intervention to find a way out for this impasse on Rural Development Fund.

Dr. Sahney stated that the present AIF ceiling is inadequate for building modern cold storage and warehousing needed to curb post-harvest losses estimated by NABARD at Rs1.5 lakh crore annually. Agriculture & Farmers’ Welfare Minister Shri Shivraj Singh Chauhan welcomed the suggestion and assured that the request would be considered.

On FPOs in Punjab, Dr. Sahney said that despite high registrations, very few are actively functional and able to access AIF-supported infrastructure such as cold stores and grading units. He called for stronger incentives and institutional support to make FPOs effective agencies for agri-infrastructure projects(updated on 13th February 2026