New Features Added to e-NAM

Why in News

Recently, the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare has launched three new features of the National Agriculture Market (e-NAM) Platform.

  • The new features will strengthen agriculture marketing by reducing farmers’ need to physically go to wholesale mandis for selling their harvested produce.
  • It is an important move at a time when there is a critical need to decongest mandis to effectively fight against Covid-19.

Key Points

  • Integration of Negotiable Warehouse Receipt System (e-NWRs) Module with e-NAM
    • Under it, a warehouse trading module with payment feature is launched.
    • It will enable small and marginal farmers to directly trade their stored produce from selected Warehousing Development and Regulatory Authority (WDRA) registered warehouses which are declared deemed market by the State.
    • Farmers will be able to place their produce in WDRA accredited warehouses.
      • Telangana (14 warehouses) and Andhra Pradesh (23 warehouses) have already declared designated warehouses as deemed markets.
    • Benefits:
      • Depositor can save the logistics expenses and will have better income.
      • Farmers can sell the produce across the Nation at better price without the hassle of going to mandi.
      • Farmers with their produce in WDRA accredited warehouses can avail the benefit of pledge loan, if required.
      • Price stabilization by matching supply and demand through time and place utility.
  • FPO trading Module
    • It will enable Farmer Producers’ Organisations (FPOs) to upload the picture of their produce and quality parameters from their premise/collection centres for bidding.
    • Distant bidders can visualise the produce before bidding by seeing the pictures and quality.
    • After successful bidding, FPOs can deliver the produce from their premises or by bringing it to mandi.
    • Benefits:
      • This will decongest mandis and also reduce the hassle.
      • This will help FPOs by reducing logistics costs and enhance their bargaining power.
      • Facilitates FPOs to avail online payment facility with ease of doing business.
  • Launch of Logistic Module
    • A provision has been made for linking large logistic aggregator platforms providing choices to users.
      • Presently, e-NAM provides a database of individual transporters to the traders.
    • Traders will be able to use the link to navigate to the logistics provider’s website and select appropriate services.
    • With these additions, more than 3,75,000 number of trucks from large logistic providers would be added for logistic purpose.
    • Benefits:
      • This will help in seamless transportation of agri-produce.
      • This will promote inter-state trade by providing online transport facilities for distant buyers.

e-NAM

  • It was launched on 14th April 2016 as a pan-India electronic trade portal linking Agricultural Produce Market Committees (APMCs) across the States.
  • It provides for contactless remote bidding and mobile-based anytime payment for which traders do not need to either visit mandis or banks for the same.
  • Already 585 mandis in 16 States and 2 Union Territories have been integrated on e-NAM portal and will be soon expanded to cover additional 415 mandis, which will take the total number of e-NAM mandis to 1,000.

Negotiable Warehouse Receipt System

  • It was launched in 2011 but the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution.
  • Farmers can seek loans from banks against the warehouse receipts issued to them against their storage.
  • These receipts issued by the warehouses registered with the WDRA would become a fully negotiable instrument backed by a Central legislation.
  • The Electronic Negotiable Warehouse Receipt (e-NWR) System was launched in 2017.

Warehousing Development and Regulatory Authority

  • It was constituted on 26th October 2010 under the Warehousing (Development and Regulation) Act, 2007.
  • It is a statutory authority under the Department of Food and Public Distribution, Government of India.
  • It is headquartered in New Delhi.
  • The Act provides for the establishment of the WDRA to exercise the powers conferred on it and to perform the functions assigned to it under the Act, Rules and Regulations for the development and regulation of warehouses, negotiability of warehouse receipts and promote orderly growth of the warehousing business in the country.

Source: PIB