Bharat Krishi Niryat Yojana (APEDA Financial Assistance Scheme 2026-31)

What is Bharat Krishi Niryat Yojana?

Bharat Krishi Niryat Yojana (BKNY) is the Financial Assistance Scheme of the Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA), which works under the Department of Commerce, Ministry of Commerce and Industry. APEDA's circular F.No. APEDA-BFD/18/2025-BFD dated 6 October 2026 says the scheme was formerly known as the Agriculture and Processed Foods Export Promotion Scheme of APEDA, and that the Department of Commerce has approved it for the 16th Finance Commission cycle, 2026-27 to 2030-31, with a total outlay of Rs 540 crore over 5 years.

Bharat Krishi Niryat Yojana pays grants to people and organisations in the agri-export chain for three things: export infrastructure (pack houses, cold chain, reefer vans, treatment plants), quality development (food safety systems, labs, testing, certification) and market development (feasibility studies, trial shipments, brand registration abroad, retail listing fees). It covers all APEDA scheduled products, which number 802 at the 8-digit HSN level, and NPOP-certified organic products.

Related schemes: People who look up Bharat Krishi Niryat Yojana (APEDA Financial Assistance Scheme 2026-31) often also check Central Assistance for One-Time Settlement of Displaced Families from PoK and Chhamb (PM Development Package), Agroforestry Component under RKVY, Coconut Palm Insurance Scheme (CPIS), Agriculture Infrastructure Fund (AIF), Coffee Development Programme in North Eastern Region: Consolidation of Coffee, Agriculture and Processed Foods Export Promotion Scheme of APEDA (15th Finance Commission Cycle, 2021-22 to 2025-26), Coffee Development Programme in North Eastern Region: Expansion of Coffee and Agricultural Marketing Infrastructure (AMI) Scheme. See also all Agriculture & Farmers schemes.

Current position. The new operational guidelines are on the APEDA website, but as of 26 October 2026 APEDA had not yet invited applications. The circular says applications will be invited shortly along with the selection criteria. APEDA calls for applications every financial year, and for infrastructure it may invite only designated priority groups, products or regions.

Who is eligible for Bharat Krishi Niryat Yojana?

You can apply if you are:

• An exporter holding a valid APEDA Registration cum Membership Certificate (RCMC) for APEDA scheduled products.
• An NPOP-certified organic operator, for organic products.
• A central or state government institution or public sector body, for common infrastructure and some other components.
• For certain market development items, a trade chamber or an Indian mission abroad.

Priority groups get assistance of up to 75% for most activities: RCMC holders in the North Eastern states, Ladakh, Andaman and Nicobar, Lakshadweep and Jammu and Kashmir, and Farmer Producer Organisations (FPOs), Primary Agricultural Credit Societies (PACS), SC/ST exporters, women-led enterprises and startups anywhere in the country. Under the guidelines:

• A firm counts as SC/ST if the proprietor is SC/ST, or SC/ST partners or directors hold at least 51%, and the firm has existed for at least one year.
• A firm counts as women-led if the proprietor, or all partners or directors, are women, and it has existed for at least one year.
• A startup must hold a valid DPIIT certificate, have existed for 2 to 5 years and have turnover of up to Rs 500 lakh.

You are not eligible if:

• You do not hold an APEDA RCMC (or NPOP registration for organic products).
• You have already received a grant from any other government agency for the same component of the same project.
• Your application is incomplete, your site fails APEDA's pre-inspection, or you file more than one application for the same sub-component. These are grounds for summary rejection.
• You want help with expenditure made before you applied online.

What are the benefits under Bharat Krishi Niryat Yojana?

Export infrastructure

All infrastructure items (pack house, upgrade, reefer vans and processing equipment) together are capped at Rs 300 lakh per beneficiary for the plan period. A merchant exporter can get at most 2 vehicles and a manufacturer exporter at most 5 vehicles in the plan period. Civil work can be no more than 25% of the grant.

Quality development

• Food safety and quality certification (HACCP, ISO, GAP and similar): 50% of the cost up to Rs 5 lakh per certification.
• Packaging equipment such as controlled atmosphere packaging: 40% up to Rs 10 lakh, or 75% up to Rs 10 lakh for priority groups.
• Testing charges for residues and contaminants in APEDA traceability systems: 50% up to Rs 5,000 per sample, with a ceiling of Rs 20 lakh per beneficiary in the plan period.
• Traceability equipment and systems: 50% up to Rs 20 lakh.
• Training for quality systems: 50% up to Rs 5 lakh per year, 75% for priority groups.

Market development

• Feasibility studies for new markets or products: 50% up to Rs 10 lakh per study, 75% for priority groups and trade bodies.
• Trial shipments by road, rail, air or sea: 50% up to Rs 10 lakh, 75% for priority groups.
• Brand or IPR registration abroad: 50% up to Rs 50 lakh per beneficiary in the plan period, 75% for priority groups.
• Listing, shelf space or slotting fees in international retail chains, for FPOs, women-led, SC/ST and startup exporters: 50% up to Rs 8 lakh a year.
• Brand promotion of GI products: 50% up to Rs 100 lakh, 75% for priority groups.

Trade fair participation, buyer-seller meets and packaging standards are run by APEDA itself, not paid as grants to exporters.

What documents are required?

How to apply for Bharat Krishi Niryat Yojana

1. Hold a valid APEDA RCMC and make sure every unit you will claim for is on your IEC and RCMC.
2. Watch for APEDA's call for applications on apeda.gov.in. APEDA may open a window only for certain groups, products or regions, and closes it once requests reach twice the funds available for that sub-component.
3. Prepare the proposal with three quotations, land papers, appraisal note and drawings before the window opens.
4. Apply online through "Submit BKNY Application" under the Schemes menu on apeda.gov.in and pay the online fee. Note the tracking number. The date of the online application is the cut-off for eligible spending.
5. Wait for scrutiny and pre-inspection. APEDA checks the papers, may inspect the site and places the proposal before its Technical Committee. Projects over Rs 250 lakh go to the APEDA Authority.
6. Receive In-Principle Approval (IPA) and complete the project within its validity. Extensions are decided case by case.
7. File the final claim before the IPA expires. APEDA verifies the asset and pays into your bank account, after deducting a 5% processing fee plus GST.

For pack houses, reefer vans and similar infrastructure, the grant is paid in three instalments of 40%, 40% and 20%. The first instalment needs a bank guarantee of 50% of the grant; the later ones need proof of spending, utilisation certificates and an APEDA inspection.

Conditions after you get the grant

• Keep the asset for 5 years. Equipment and facilities bought with the grant cannot be sold or transferred for 5 years, or the full grant must be repaid with interest.
• Report performance. Assisted units file quarterly performance online, even if exports are nil.
• Bank guarantee for infrastructure. Infrastructure grantees furnish a bank guarantee of 25% of the grant, valid for three years or until the projected performance is reached.
• Repay if the project fails. If a project cannot take off, the whole grant, the processing fee, interest and penalty must be repaid.

Funding depends on the yearly budget the Department of Commerce gives APEDA, and filing an application does not by itself give a right to assistance.

Where to get help

APEDA's head office is on the 3rd and 4th floor, NCUI Building, 3 Siri Institutional Area, August Kranti Marg, New Delhi 110016. Phone 011-41486013, 20863919 or 20867008; technical support 9228132200. The guidelines and any call for applications are posted on the Financial Assistance Schemes page of apeda.gov.in.