KISAN
RAIL - POLITY
News:
The Kisan Rail services
operated since its launch in August 2020
What's
in the news?
●
Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said that 2364
rail services ran on 167 routes disbursing 14 crore in subsidy this year.
Kisan
Rail:
●
Kisan Rail was announced in the Union Budget of 2020.
●
Indian
Railways is running the Kisan Rail train services, to
transport perishables and agri-products, including milk, meat and fish.
Objective:
●
To increase the income in the farm sector
by connecting production centers to markets and consumption centers.
Features:
1.
Subsidy on Transportation of fruits and vegetables:
Under Operation Green, the Government of India also provided up to 50% subsidy
for transportation of fruits and vegetables.
2.
Commodities: Perishables including fruits, vegetables,
meat, poultry, fishery and dairy products.
3.
Quantity: No minimum limit on quantity that can be booked, enabling
even small and marginal farmers to reach bigger and distant markets.
Significance:
1.
Seamless national cold supply chain:
●
Kisan rail will help in bringing
perishable agricultural products like vegetables, fruits to the market in a
short period of time.
●
The train with frozen containers is
expected to build a seamless national cold supply chain for perishables,
inclusive of fish, meat and milk.
2.
Doubling farmer's incomes by 2022:
●
It is a step towards realizing the goal of
doubling farmer's incomes by 2022. Indian Railways aims to double farmer's
income with the launch of Kisan Rail.
3.
Time Saving:
●
The railway service saves an average of 15
hours of transportation time through roads. It also saves almost 1000 rupees
per tonne on transportation costs.
4.
No issue of quantity:
●
The railway services can transport up to
any distance at any time. There is no minimum or maximum quantity issue in this
mode.
5.
Cold Storage:
●
The fruits and vegetables are carried from
one place to another in cold storage thus they do not lose any shelf value.
6.
Reduced Wastage:
●
Almost 8 million dollars of vegetables and
fruits are wasted every year due to various issues listed above which are saved
through Kisan rail.