PRICE STABILISATION FUND TRUST TO
HELP PLANTATION SECTOR GROWERS BECOMES FUNCTIONAL
The Price Stabilisation
Fund (PSF) set up by the government to alleviate the hardship
faced by the growers of coffee, tea, rubber and tobacco due to
continued low prices of these commodities and to safeguard the
interests of the small growers of these commodities has become
functional with effect from 11.9.2003. For smooth implementation
of the PSF Scheme, NABARD in consultation with the Central Government
has set up a Trust, with three trustees from Government of India
and two from NABARD. Shri L. V. Saptharishi, Additional Secretary,
Ministry of Commerce & Industry, Shri G.K. Agrawal, Executive
Director, NABARD and Shri P.K.Dash, Chief Executive Officer of
PSF were present at the formal registration of the PSF Trust Deed
here yesterday. The Headquarters of the PSF Trust will be located
in New Delhi.
The objective of
the PSF is to provide financial relief to the growers when prices
of these commodities fall below a specified level, without resorting
to the practice of procurement operations by the Government agencies.
The Scheme will be operational, initially for a period of ten
years.
The Price Stabilisation
Fund will be established with a corpus of Rs.500 crores which
shall include Rs.482.88 crores as a onetime contribution by the
Central Government and Rs.17.12 crores as a non-refundable initial
contribution by the participating growers @ Rs.500 per grower.
The corpus of the Fund will be kept in the Public Account of the
Government of India. The interest on the corpus Fund will be benchmarked
to the interest rate as is applicable on the GPF, SDS and similar
funds in Public Account. The corpus Fund would remain undisturbed
and interest earnings alone will be utilised for operationalising
the Price Stabilisation Fund Scheme. The annual interest accruing
on the corpus would be released to the Trust Fund to be administered
by the National Bank For Agriculture and Rural Development.
Initially, the Scheme
will cover a total of about 3.42 lakh growers of coffee, tea,
natural rubber and tobacco, being the most needy amongst those
having operational holdings of up to 4 hectares. The Scheme will
be based on the principle of contributions from the growers and
from the Government depending on normal/boom/distress periods,
with a provision for withdrawal of Rs.1000/- per grower during
distress period.
