Page 28 - Banking Finance October 2022

ARTICLE

FISHERIES AND

AQUACULTURE

INFRASTRUCTURE

DEVELOPMENT

FUND (FIDF)

(A booster for infrastructure

finance)

ission Blue Revolution envisioned by the mostly grant based without the ability to leverage them for
M Government primarily focuses to enhance fish credit based finance, (ii) there is conspicuous lack of credit

productivity, fish production at a growth rate
funding in fisheries sector and (iii) to fill the large gaps in
of 6% to 8% and creation of need based fisheries infrastructure, the Department of Fisheries,
infrastructure facilities for fisheries. Through the concerted Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying has set
efforts put in by the Central and State Governments in up a dedicated Fisheries and Aquaculture Infrastructure
implementation of various programmes and policies, the Development Fund (FIDF). FIDF envisages creation of
country's fish production has increased from 0.75 million fisheries infrastructure facilities both in marine and inland
tonnes in 1950-51 to 12.61 million tonnes (P) during 2017- fisheries sectors and augment the fish production to achieve
18, contributing to the economic development together the target of 15 million tonnes by 2020 set under the Blue
with food and nutritional security. Revolution.
In the Union Budget 2018, the Hon'ble Finance Minister
Keeping in view that (i) there is limited availability of funds has announced to set aside a corpus of Rs. 10,000
through the normal budgetary process and even these are crores for setting up of Fisheries and Aquaculture
Infrastructure Development Fund (FIDF) for fisheries
sector and an Animal Husbandry Infrastructure
About the author
Development Fund (AHIDF) for financing infrastructure
Pravindra Kumar requirement of animal husbandry sector.
Senior Manager - Faculty
The proposed Fisheries and Aquaculture Infrastructure
Staff Training Centre
Development Fund entails an estimated fund size of Rs
Union Bank of India
7522.48 Crore comprising of Rs 5266.40 crore to be
Gurugram
28 | 2022 | OCTOBER | BANKING FINANCE