Rural Warehouse Subsidy — Gramin Bhandaran Yojana / AMI: 25% to 33% Capital Subsidy for Godowns and Storage
Video Explanation & Insights
How to get a ₹3 crore government subsidy for your warehouse (Gramin Bhandaran Yojana)
3 videos on this topic
Why the government subsidises rural godowns
Prices of farm produce crash at harvest and rise months later. Scientific storage near the farm lets farmers, traders and processors hold produce, pledge it for credit and sell when the price is right — which is why the Government of India has subsidised rural godowns since the Gramin Bhandaran Yojana of 2001. That scheme now continues as the storage infrastructure component of the Agricultural Marketing Infrastructure (AMI) sub-scheme of the Integrated Scheme for Agricultural Marketing, run by the Directorate of Marketing and Inspection with NABARD as the channel for the back-end subsidy. The objectives are unchanged: scientific storage for farm produce and inputs, pledge finance and negotiable warehouse receipts, grading and quality, and drawing private and cooperative investment into agricultural marketing infrastructure.
Who can build, where and how big
| Item | Rule | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Promoter | Individuals, farmers, groups of farmers, proprietorships, partnerships, companies, NGOs, SHGs, FPOs, cooperatives, agro-processing units, agricultural marketing boards and APMCs | Practically every constitution except HUFs, as the video notes |
| Location | Outside the limits of a municipal corporation or municipality | Godowns inside notified food parks qualify even within city limits |
| Capacity | Storage infrastructure of 50 MT to 5,000 MT; 25 MT in hilly areas | The older GBY range was 100 to 30,000 MT with 50 MT rural godowns; the current AMI guidelines set the slab |
| Structure | Scientific godown per the scheme's engineering specifications — plinth, ventilation, moisture-proofing, fumigation, weighing | Registration with WDRA for negotiable warehouse receipts; CWC accreditation was prescribed for 1,000 MT and above under GBY |
| Finance | Credit-linked: a term loan from a scheduled commercial, cooperative or regional rural bank | Subsidy is released by NABARD to the bank as back-end subsidy; CGTMSE cover can back the loan |
| Security | The land and the godown are the primary security | Collateral as per bank norms |
How much you get
| Category | Subsidy | Ceiling |
|---|---|---|
| General — individuals, companies, partnerships | 25% of capital cost | Per the AMI cost norms per tonne and the scheme ceiling |
| SC/ST entrepreneurs, women, FPOs, cooperatives, and projects in NE and hilly states | 33.33% of capital cost | Higher ceiling for the same capacity |
| Renovation of existing godowns of cooperatives (with NCDC assistance) | 25% of project cost | Cooperatives only |
The Agriculture Infrastructure Fund can be layered on the same project: a 3% interest subvention on the term loan up to ₹2 crore for seven years and CGTMSE credit guarantee cover — see our AIF page.
What the bank and NABARD need
From land to subsidy release
- 1Step 1 — Site and capacity: confirm the plot is outside municipal limits (or inside a notified food park), and size the godown to demand — 50 to 5,000 MT.
- 2Step 2 — DPR and drawings by an architect and engineer to the scheme's specifications; state warehousing licence applied for.
- 3Step 3 — Term loan sanctioned by the bank; the bank forwards the subsidy application to NABARD.
- 4Step 4 — Construction; inspection by the bank and NABARD / DMI; completion certificate.
- 5Step 5 — Back-end subsidy released to the bank and kept in the subsidy reserve fund, adjusted against the loan after the lock-in; WDRA registration for negotiable receipts and pledge finance.
Warehousing models the godown can serve
- •Private and public warehousing for farm produce and inputs; cooperative godowns.
- •Bonded and contract warehousing; fulfilment and distribution warehousing near consumption centres.
- •Raw-material, work-in-progress and finished-goods storage for agro-processors — for example tomato puree held for sauce production.
- •Value-added services: cleaning, grading, packing and pledge finance against warehouse receipts.
Warehouse subsidy: questions we are asked
The scheme continues as the storage infrastructure component of the Agricultural Marketing Infrastructure (AMI) sub-scheme of ISAM, with NABARD channelling the back-end subsidy through banks.
25% of capital cost for general promoters and 33.33% for SC/ST entrepreneurs, women, FPOs, cooperatives and projects in NE and hilly areas, on the scheme's cost norms and ceilings.
No — the godown must be outside municipal corporation or municipality limits, unless it is inside a notified food park.
50 MT to 5,000 MT under AMI, and 25 MT in hilly areas; larger projects may qualify under other schemes such as AIF.
Yes. The subsidy is credit-linked and released by NABARD to the lending bank as back-end subsidy.
Yes — a 3% interest subvention on the term loan up to ₹2 crore for seven years and CGTMSE cover can be layered on an eligible warehouse project.
Site and capacity assessment, DPR and drawings coordination, bank sanction, the NABARD subsidy claim and the WDRA and state warehousing licences.