What is e-Kisan Upaj Nidhi platform?

About e-Kisan Upaj Nidhi platform

• It is a digital gateway of Warehousing Development and Regulatory Authority (WDRA).
• The initiative with its simplified digital process can ease the procedure of farmers' storage at any registered WDRA warehouse for a period of 6 months at 7% interest per annum.
• This digital intervention is poised to mitigate distress sales by providing farmers with viable post-harvest storage options.

Key facts about Warehousing Development and Regulatory Authority (WDRA)

• It was established under the Warehousing (Development and Regulation) Act, 2007 and it consists of one Chairperson and two full time Members.
• Mission of WDRA
  • It is to establish a negotiable warehouse receipt system in the country.
  • It will make warehouse receipts a prime tool of trade and facilitate finance against it, enable banks to improve the quality of their lending portfolio and enhance their interest in lending against goods deposited in warehouses.
  • This will help foster scientific warehousing of goods, increase liquidity in rural areas, improve supply chains, enhance grading and quality of goods and there by ensure higher returns to depositors.
• The negotiable warehouse receipts issued by the WDRA will help the farmers to seek loans from banks against the National Warehouse Receipts (NWRs) to avoid distress sales of agricultural produce during the peak marketing season and to avoid the post harvest storage loss.
• 136 agricultural commodities including cereals, pulses, oil seeds, spices, rubber, tobacco, coffee etc for issuing negotiable warehouse receipts and also 24 horticultural commodities for cold storage and 9 non agricultural commodities have been notified.

Q1) What is Electronic Negotiable Warehousing Receipt?

The negotiable warehouse receipt (NWR) system was launched in 2011 allowing the transfer of ownership of a commodity stored in a warehouse without having to deliver it physically.This has been enabled by enabling the financing of warehouse receipts through the Warehouse (Development and Regulation) Act, of 2007.

Source: Agriculture is expected to spearhead the nation towards becoming ‘Viksit Bharat’ by 2047