The present BJP government published an infographic on the 48-months portal that makes five claims about value addition and improvement in the supply chain of the agricultural sector. This article is a fact check of these claims. The present BJP government published an infographic on the 48-months portal that makes five claims about value addition and improvement in the supply chain of the agricultural sector. This article is a fact check of these claims. What is the PMKSY? The first claim is that ‘PMKSY launched to modernize supply chain infrastructure.’ PMKSY stands for the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Sampada Yojana. The website of the scheme states that ‘Government of India (GOI) has approved a new Central Sector Scheme – Pradhan Mantri Kisan SAMPADA Yojana (Scheme for Agro-Marine Processing and Development of Agro-Processing Clusters) with an allocation of Rs.. 6,000 crore for the period 2016-20 coterminous with the 14th Finance Commission cycle. The scheme will be implemented by Ministry of Food Processing Industries (MoFPI). The scheme was approved in May 2017. The following schemes will be implemented under PM Kisan SAMPADA Yojana: Another response in the Lok Sabha in January 2019 predicts that ‘PMKSY is expected to leverage investment of Rs.31,400 crore, handling of 334 lakh MT of agro-produce valuing Rs. 1.04 lakh crore, will benefit 20 lakh farmers and generate 5.3 lakh direct/ indirect employment in the country by the year 2019-20’. The progress up to March 2018 is as follows: While the scheme itself is new and has been launched under the BJP government, it is of interest to note that under the UPA government also, ‘Ministry of Food Processing Industries provided assistance for development of integrated cold chain and preservation of infrastructure facilities from farm gate to the consumer.’ Most of the components under the PMKSY were already under implementation and have received grants and funding much before the BJP government (2006 in some cases). Claim: PMKSY launched to modernize supply chain infrastructure. Fact: Government of India approved a new Central Sector Scheme – PRADHAN MANTRI KISAN SAMPADA YOJANA – (PMKSY) in May 2017. Hence the claim is TRUE. However, most of the components under this umbrella scheme have been in implementation even before the BJP has come into power. Did budget allocation for food processing industry double? The second claim is that ‘budget allocation doubled to push food processing industry’. The claim does not specify the years of comparison. Hence it is difficult to verify the claim. However, the actual expenditure under the Ministry of Food Processing Industries has not followed a particular trend. It has increased & decreased both during the UPA as well as the NDA. If the actual expenditure in 2014-15 is taken as the base, then the revised estimate for 2018-19 is about 70% more than the 2014-15 figure, but not exactly double. Claim: Budget allocation doubled to push food processing industry. Fact: The claim does not specify the years of comparison. Hence it is difficult to verify the claim. However, the actual expenditure under the Ministry of Food Processing Industries has not followed a particular trend. It has increased & decreased both during the UPA as well as the NDA. If the actual expenditure in 2014-15 is taken as the base, then the revised estimate for 2018-19 is about 70% more than the 2014-15 figure, but not exactly double. Hence the claim remains UNVERIFIED. What are GrAMs? The third claim is that ‘GrAMs, electronically linked to e-NAM, to make direct sale to consumers and bulk purchasers’. A response in Lok Sabha in February 2019 stated that ‘in the Union Budget 2018-19, Government has announced upgradation and development of existing 22,000 village haats to Gramin Agriculture Market (GrAMs) through convergence of various schemes such as Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) and others. The GrAMs are to be exempted from Agricultural Produce Market Committees (APMCs) regulations and linked to e-NAM. These GrAMs are intended to facilitate farmers in selling their produce to direct buyers’. It has to be noted that the village haats were in existence from long before the BJP government came into power but their up-gradation and linking to the electronic market is an innovation. Claim: GrAMs, electronically linked to e-NAM, to make direct sale to consumers and bulk purchasers. Fact: GrAMs (Gramin Agriculture Markets) are an up-gradation to the existing village haats through the convergence of different government schemes. These are to be linked to the e-NAM to facilitate farmers in selling their produce directly to buyers. Hence, the claim is TRUE.