Dairy Processing & Infrastructure Development Fund Scheme

Union Minister of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare, Radha Mohan Singh has recently launched Dairy Processing & Infrastructure Development Fund (DIDF) in New Delhi with an outlay of Rs 10881 crore. The fund is implemented through National Dairy Development Board (NDDB) and National Cooperative Development Development Corporation (NCDC). It will benefit 95 lakh farmers in about 50 thousand villages. In it, many skilled, semi-skilled and unskilled workers will get employment, directly and indirectly. Additional milk processing capacity of 126 lakh litre per day, milk drying capacity of 210 MT per day, milk chilling capacity of 140 lakh litre per day shall be created. Under this scheme, milk cooperatives will be provided financial assistance of Rs 8004 crore in the form of a loan at 6.5% interest, which will be reimbursed over a period of 10 years. The government has also given a provision of interest subsidy on loans.