India, June 29 -- In a major boost to the cooperative sector and to ensure the timely availability of fertilisers to farmers, the Odisha government has approved a Rs 42-crore Interest Subvention Scheme aimed at strengthening fertiliser distribution through cooperative societies and curbing black-marketing.

The new State Sector Scheme, titled "Interest Subvention on Cash Credit Loan for Prepositioning of Fertilizer," has been approved for implementation from the current financial year after receiving clearance from the Finance Department. The proposal was recommended by the Standing Finance Committee (SFC), chaired by the Commissioner-cum-Secretary of the Cooperation Department.

The scheme seeks to address a key challenge faced by Prima...