AIF Scheme Agriculture Infrastructure FundEligibility, Benefits, How to Apply

The government directly pays 3% of your annual interest to the lending bank reducing your effective borrowing cost significantly.

Loans up to ₹2 crore under the AIF scheme are covered under CGTMSE (Credit Guarantee Fund Trust for Micro and Small Enterprises). Critically, the government pays the guarantee fee not the borrower.

Moratorium period: 6 months to 2 years - you don't repay a single rupee while your infrastructure is being built and repayment tenure is Up to 7 years after moratorium

AIF loans can be availed from multiple institutions including Scheduled Commercial Banks (SBI, HDFC, PNB, Canara), NABARD, Regional Rural Banks (RRBs), Small Finance Banks, NBFCs, Cooperative Banks, and NCDC.

AIF allows convergence with schemes like PMFME, PM-KUSUM, NABARD Dairy, RKVY Agri-Startup, and NHB/MIDH, where subsidies can be treated as promoter contribution.

For fruits, vegetables, dairy, and seafood preservation

Banana, mango, and other ethylene-ripened produce

Bulk dry storage for cereals, pulses, oilseeds

Quality grading before market dispatch

Cleaning, drying, milling for farm produce

Refrigerated vehicles for cold-chain continuity

Affordable machinery rental for small farmers

Controlled-environment crop production

Digital agri trading platforms

A copy-paste DPR without project-specific financial projections, site details, or market linkage plan is the most common cause of rejection. Each DPR must be tailor-made for your specific project.

If your land is leased but the remaining lease period is less than 7–8 years, your application will likely be disqualified. Always check lease duration before applying.

Standalone secondary processing projects are not eligible under AIF (they fall under MoFPI schemes). Only integrated primary + secondary processing qualifies. Verify your project type before applying.

Bank statements, financial statements, and GST filings must be current and accurate. Submitting outdated documents causes delays, and discrepancies trigger rejection.

Not all branches of all banks are equipped to process AIF applications. Always confirm that your chosen branch/lender has an MoU with DA&FW/NABARD for AIF scheme processing.

You must arrange at least 10% of total project cost from your own funds (or from capital subsidies received under other government schemes). Failing to demonstrate this upfront kills the application.

Some applicants approach only the bank without registering on the AIF login portal (agriinfra.dac.gov.in). Both registrations portal + bank are required for the subvention benefit to be activated.

We draft a technically strong, bank-compliant Detailed Project Report specific to your infrastructure type, location, and business model the one document that makes or breaks your application.

We verify your project fits AIF eligibility criteria project category, land documentation, promoter contribution, and entity type before you spend time at the bank.

We identify the right lending institution for your project type and region, and handle the bankside coordination so you don't waste months chasing the wrong branch.

We provide a personalised document checklist, pre-fill your AIF portal registration, and ensure zero documentation errors that cause delays.

We build your financial projections revenue, DSCR, IRR, payback period making your project financially credible to the bank's credit team.

We layer PMFME, NABARD, PM-KUSUM, and state subsidies on top of your AIF loan to minimise your total funding gap.