Boost Your Agri-Business with the Animal Husbandry Infrastructure Development Fund (AHIDF)!

Are you looking to invest in the Animal Husbandry and Dairying sector? The Animal Husbandry Infrastructure Development Fund (AHIDF) is a significant initiative by the Government of India designed to supercharge growth and innovation in this crucial sector.

What is AHIDF?

Launched as part of the Atma Nirbhar Bharat Abhiyan, AHIDF is a Central Sector Scheme aimed at mobilizing medium to long-term debt financing for viable projects in animal husbandry and dairy processig It boasts a substantial outlay of ₹29,110.25 Crores up to FY 2025-2026. The scheme is operational from 2020 to 2026, with a sunset date of March 31, 2033, allowing repayment to spill over until 2033-34.

Why Should You Opt for AHIDF?

The core objective is to create a robust agriculture ecosystem, increase farmer income, boost private sector investment, generate employment, and provide better quality products to consumers. The scheme offers attractive features that make it a lucrative financing option across India.

Key Benefits & Features:

Interest Subvention: All eligible loans receive an interest subvention of 3% per annum for a maximum period of 8 years. There is no cap on the Bank Term Loan amount for this benefit. This subvention can also apply to already availed bank term loans under certain conditions.
High Loan Coverage: Projects are eligible for loans up to 90% of the project cost. Beneficiary contribution is as low as 10% for Micro and Small Units.
Credit Guarantee: Eligible borrowers, specifically MSMEs and Dairy Cooperatives, can access credit guarantee coverage under the Credit Guarantee Fund Trust for Micro and Small Enterprises (CGTMSE) scheme for loans up to ₹2 Crores.
Converged Benefits: AHIDF is designed to be converged with other central or state government schemes, meaning you can potentially avail additional capital subsidies or grants on top of AHIDF benefits.
Single Online Window: The scheme provides a single online window facility in collaboration with participating banks, simplifying the loan application process.

Who Can Apply?

AHIDF opens its doors to a wide range of beneficiaries, including:
Individual Entrepreneurs
Private Companies
MSME Units (Micro Small and Medium Enterprises)
Farmer Producer Organizations (FPOs)
Section 8 Companies
Dairy Cooperatives (This is a recent inclusion as of March 2024)

What Projects Are Covered?

The fund supports a diverse range of projects to facilitate business growth:
Dairy Processing Units: Including ice cream, cheese, UHT milk, flavored milk, milk powder, whey powder, and other value-added products. It also covers marketing infrastructure, milk transportation, R&D, and renewable energy infrastructure for plant operations.
Animal Feed Plants: Covering mini, medium, and large plants, total mixed ration block making units, bypass protein units, mineral mixture plants, and feed testing laboratories.
Meat Processing and Value Addition Infrastructure: For sheep, goat, poultry, pig, and buffalo, including integrated facilities and value-added products.
Breed Improvement Technology & Breed Multiplication Farms: For cattle, buffalo, sheep, goat, and pig, including IVF centers and sex-sorted semen production.
Poultry Farming: Including hatcheries, layer farms, broiler breeder farms, and integrated projects for poultry farming and poultry feed.
Veterinary Vaccine and Drug Production Facilities: For establishing or strengthening manufacturing plants with GMP facilities.
Animal Waste to Wealth Management: Projects such as production of Phosphate Rich Organic Manure (PROM) and Bio-CNG.