During the current year, Railways have disbursed Rs 4 crores as a subsidy.
Indian Railways have operated around 2,359 Kisan Rail services till January 2023. Kisan railway transported approximately 7.9 lakh tonnes of agricultural goods from one state to another. The Kisan railway was launched in August 2020 from Devlali Maharashtra to Danapur Bihar.
This information was given by Ashwini Vaishnaw, Minister of Railways, Communications and Electronic & Information Technology, in a written reply to a question in Lok Sabha.
The railways have operated 116 Kisan Rail services in Andhra Pradesh, 62 in Gujarat, 46 in Karnataka, 1,838 in Maharashtra, 74 in Madhya Pradesh, 15 in Punjab, 5 in Rajasthan, 76 in Uttar Pradesh, 59 in West Bengal, and 66 in Telangana. The national transporter has operated one Kisan Rail train in Assam and Tripura.
Railways have been continuing with the subsidy, at a rate of Rs45 per cent and this subsidy is applicable till 31 March 23. Up to 31 March 2022, a 50 per cent subsidy in freight was granted by the Ministry of Food Processing Industries (MoFPI) for the transportation of fruits and vegetables by Kisan rail, which was not continued further. During 2020-21, Railways disbursed Rs27.79 crores as a subsidy which MoFPI reimbursed. During 2021-22, Railways disbursed Rs121.86 crores as a subsidy, out of which MoFPI reimbursed only Rs50 crores. During the current year, Railways have disbursed Rs4 crores as a subsidy.
