Agri Udaan Programme [UPSC Notes GS-III]

Agri Udaan is a flagship program for Food and Agribusiness Accelerator launched by a-IDEA, NAARM in 2015. This programme was launched along with CIIE and IIM-A and out of 192 startups who applied for this programme, 20 startups were mentored and 8 startups were supported.

The second series of Food and Agribusiness Accelerator ‘Agri Udaan 2.0’ was launched in 2017 with the support of the Department of Science and Technology in association with Caspian, Yes Bank, Marico and NeML. In 2019, a-IDEA, NAARM with the support of DST launched its Agri Udaan, Food and Agribusiness Accelerator 3.0 in association with NABARD, Caspian, AgrInnovate, Omnivore, and other prominent partners. AGRI UDAAN 4.0 launched at ICAR-NAARM on 17th May, 2021.

Agri Udaan is a focused program that targets towards scaling up of the startups for their overall development. Out of more than 7,500 incubators that exist, the majority of them focus on early-stage support to the startups through their incubation programs.

Agri Udaan Programme covers an important part of the UPSC Syllabus and is included under the GS-III section. IAS Exam aspirants can also download the notes PDF at the end of this article.

What was Agri Udaan 2.0?

‘AGRI UDAAN’- Food and Agribusiness Accelerator 2.0 was announced by the ICAR-NAARM Technology Business Incubator (TBI), a-IDEA and the Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad’s (IIM-A) incubator Center for Innovation, Incubation and Entrepreneurship (CIIE). The objective of this programme was to help the selected innovative startups to scale up their operations in the agricultural value chain for any effective improvement in the field of agriculture. Agri Udaan 2.0 was a six-month program for mentoring the shortlisted agricultural startups to scale up their operations.

Four features that made this acceleration programme unique were:

1. It was for a fixed term.
2. Training and selection were cohort-based.
3. The Programme was mentorship-driven.
4. It Culminated into demo day.

The Agri Udaan 2.0 Programme intended to promote innovation and entrepreneurship in agriculture through rigorous mentoring, networking and helping the startups connect with potential investors. Nearly 579 startups applied for Agri Udaan 2.0, out of which 40 startups were mentored and 10 startups were shortlisted for further support, out of which, 4 startups got funding of around 6.25 Cr INR.

Aims of Agri Udaan 2.0

The Agri Udaan 2.0 aimed to attract youth with solid business ideas from rural India and elsewhere, also helping them transform their ideas into viable startups. This led to adding values to the farmer’s produce. Under this programme, incubation space was also provided to the startups to run their businesses along with access to libraries and research laboratories. Subsequently, certain startups were assisted for regulatory services like registration of the company, meeting the environmental compliance etc. The startups were also guided for preparing a realistic business plan, risk analysis, management of finances, technology commercialization and customer engagement.

Given below are links to other Agricultural schemes and programmes important from the IAS examination perspective:

Agri Udaan 3.0

Agri Udaan 3.0 is a 4 to a 6-month program launched in Hyderabad on 31st August 2019 to receive applications from startups that are trying to scale up in the agri-tech field and thus providing them support by bringing out innovations from across the country. This programme also organised roadshows in Bengaluru, Pune, Patna, Lucknow, Gurugram, Bhopal and Guwahati.

The 6th roadshow held in Bhopal on September 23, 2019, received amazing responses from various start-up entrepreneurs, investors, corporates, Government functionaries and other startup ecosystem stakeholders who shared their thoughts and perspectives on critical aspects with regards to Food and Agribusiness start-ups.

The major focus areas of Agri Udaan 3.0 are as follows:

• sustainable inputs
• Animal Husbandry
• Innovative Food & Supply Chain Technology
• Smart Agriculture, Agri Fintech & Agri Biotech
• Soil, Water & Weather technology
• Farm Mechanization & Post Harvest Technology
• Fisheries & Farm Fresh Retail
• Urban/Vertical Farming
• ICT & IoT in Agriculture

For the best Preparation Strategy for Competitive Exams, candidates can visit the linked article.

Agri Udaan 4.0

• Agri Udaan Food and Agribusiness Accelerator 4.0 is the 4th edition of the flagship accelerator program of a-IDEA (Association for Innovation Development of Entrepreneurship in Agriculture)
• It is supported by National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) of GoI. 
• The Program focuses on catalyzing scale-up stage Food and Agribusiness startups through rigorous mentoring, industry networking and investor pitching.
• Agri Udaan 4.0 brings on board a range of diverse partners to create an inclusive and collaborative ecosystem focusing on catalyzing scale-up stage Food and Agribusiness startups through rigorous mentoring, industry networking and investor pitching

Focus Areas

• Sustainable inputs
• Animal Husbandry
• Innovative Food Technology
• Supply Chain Technology
• Precision/Smart Agriculture
• Agri Fintech
• Agri Biotech
• Soil, Water & Weather tech.
• Farm Mechanization
• Post Harvest Technology
• Fisheries
• Farm Fresh Retail
• Urban/Vertical Farming
• ICT & IoT in Agriculture

Candidates can get the comprehensive UPSC Syllabus for the prelims and mains exam for the different subjects at the linked article.

Get the latest exam updates, study material and preparation notes, candidates can turn to BYJU’S for assistance.

Agri-Udaan-Programme-UPSC-notes:-Download PDF Here

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