Kisan Rail

Subject – Economy

Context – Railways red flags Kisan Rail subsidy: exceeded year’s quota in August

Concept –

The Railways has raised a red flag over the burgeoning operational costs of its Kisan Rail service with the subsidy it gives farmers for transportation of their produce at half-rate already exceeding the maximum of Rs 50 crore it is scheduled to get this fiscal under the initiative from the Ministry of Food Processing Industries (MoFPI).
Under the “Operation Greens – TOP to Total” scheme, which was notified by the MoFPI, the 50 per cent subsidy to farmers covers the cost of transportation of popular produce, such as tomato, onion and potato. The arrangement was that while farmers would get to transport their produce at half-rate, the Railways would get the subsidy amount from the MoFPI.

About Kisan Rails –

Kisan Rails are the first ever multi commodity trains.
The MoPFI introduced the subsidy scheme in October 2020.
Earlier, Indian Railways had run single commodity special trains like Banana Specials etc.
These trains with refrigerated coaches will help in bringing perishable agricultural products like vegetables, fruits to the market in a short period of time.
These will ensure that agro products reach from one corner to another corner of the country.
These trains are a step towards realising the goal of doubling farmers’ incomes by 2022.
These are expected to be a great help to the farmers, as freight of these trains will be charged as per parcel tariff of normal trains.
Any farmer or any other interested party can directly book their consignments in trains, without any lower limit on the size of consignment.
The consignment can be as small as 50-100 kgs, and can be booked from any stopping station to any other stopping station – giving full flexibility.
Regarding loss/damage of products for any reason, Railways already have a well-established claim/compensation system – through which the party can get compensation for its losses.
The first Kisan Rail ran from Deolali in Maharashtra to Danapur in Bihar in August 2020.