POONCH, FEBRUARY 12: In a step towards strengthening digital financial inclusion in rural areas, Chief Agriculture Officer Poonch, Jograj Singh Slathia distributed Micro ATM cards among Krishi Udyamis operating Common Service Centres (CSCs) under the Holistic Agriculture Development Programme (HADP) project “Innovative Approaches under Agriculture Extension”. The initiative aims to enhance the delivery of digital financial and governance services in far-flung areas of the district by empowering Krishi Udyamis to function as grassroots-level digital service providers.
Speaking on the occasion, the Chief Agriculture Officer emphasised the need for Krishi Udyamis to diversify and expand their service portfolio by integrating agriculture and allied sector services with digital platforms. He stated that the provision of Micro ATMs would enable Krishi Udyamis to offer doorstep Aadhaar-enabled payment services, cash withdrawals and deposits and fund transfers, thereby ensuring ease, transparency and financial inclusion for rural households. An on-the-spot grievance redressal session was held during the event, wherein issues related to the functioning of Kisan Khidmat Ghars (KKGs) raised by Krishi Udyamis were addressed by the concerned officials.
The Chief Agriculture Officer apprised the participants of various government initiatives aimed at handholding Krishi Udyamis and improving farmer welfare. He informed them about the availability of multiple online departmental services, including PM-KISAN, DigiPay CSC cash withdrawal and deposit services for all banks, self-registration for input licenses and registration on the HADP portal, which covers 29 projects across agriculture and allied sectors.
He elaborated that major HADP interventions include Farm Mechanisation, Alternate Agriculture Systems and Promotion of Vegetables and Exotic Vegetables, with components such as Hi-Tech Poly Greenhouses, Low-Cost Polyhouses and area expansion under open vegetable cultivation.
The Chief Agriculture Officer further informed that the onboarding of all appointed Krishi Udyamis on the Common Service Centre (CSC) platform has been successfully completed. This integration will ensure the viability of Kisan Khidmat Ghars as sustainable business units while empowering Krishi Udyamis as digital service providers for rural communities. He also stated that Krishi Udyamis must ensure daily reporting, which will enable the department to monitor progress and clear any grievances.
