Agri-Clinics and Agri-Business Centres (ACABC) Scheme
कृषि-क्लिनिक एवं कृषि-व्यवसाय केंद्र (एसीएबीसी) योजना
A Central Sector Scheme giving agriculture graduates and trained rural youth a free 45-day residential training plus a NABARD credit-linked back-ended subsidy of 36-44% to set up a village-level soil lab, input shop, custom-hiring service or vet clinic.
- Training
- 45-day free residential, via MANAGE
- Subsidy (general)
- 36% of project cost, credit-linked & back-ended
- Subsidy (women, SC/ST, NE & hill states)
- 44% of project cost
- Project-cost ceiling for subsidy
- ₹20 lakh individual / ₹100 lakh group of 5+
- Loan repayment
- 5-10 years, up to 2-year grace
- Running since
- 2002 (Central Sector Scheme)
- Progress
- ~82,776 trained, ~36,265 ventures set up
- Apply / register
- agriclinics.net (MANAGE portal)
Quick Summary
The key points from this page in about two minutes — read it or have it read aloud.
Quick Summary
The Agri-Clinics and Agri-Business Centres scheme turns an agriculture graduate or trained rural youth into a village-level agri-entrepreneur, and in doing so gives the farmers around them a paid but local source of advice and service. A candidate does a free 45-day residential training coordinated by MANAGE, Hyderabad through its Nodal Training Institutes, then prepares a project — a soil-testing lab, an input shop, a farm-equipment rental or custom-hiring service, a veterinary or para-vet clinic, a seed or nursery unit, a plant-protection or bee-keeping business. A bank sanctions a term loan for the project, and NABARD releases a credit-linked, back-ended composite subsidy: 36% of the project cost for a general candidate and 44% for women and candidates from SC/ST categories and the North-Eastern and hill states. The subsidy ceiling is a project cost of ₹20 lakh for an individual (₹25 lakh for an especially successful individual venture) and ₹100 lakh for a group of at least five trained persons.
For an ordinary farmer, the value is indirect but real: instead of travelling to a district town for a soil test, a spare part or spraying advice, there is a trained person in or near the village who provides it — and who has a business reason to keep serving farmers well. The scheme is a Central Sector Scheme running since 2002 under the Department of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare; by recent count about 82,776 candidates had been trained and roughly 36,265 agri-ventures established, with Maharashtra leading. Applications and training registration are on the official portal, agriclinics.net. The page ahead has the eligibility list, the subsidy maths and the training-to-loan steps.
Overview
The Agri-Clinics and Agri-Business Centres (ACABC) scheme is a Central Sector Scheme launched in 2002 by the Department of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare, in collaboration with NABARD and the National Institute of Agricultural Extension Management (MANAGE), Hyderabad. Its purpose is to create self-employment for agriculture graduates, diploma holders and other eligible youth, and — as a by-product — to extend last-mile advisory and input services to farmers where the government extension machinery is thin.
A selected candidate undergoes a 45-day free residential training, delivered nationwide through MANAGE's network of Nodal Training Institutes, covering technical subjects and how to prepare a bankable project and run a small enterprise. After training, the candidate prepares a project proposal — an agri-clinic (soil, water and input testing, crop and animal advisory, plant protection) or an agri-business centre (input retail, farm machinery custom hiring and rental, seed processing, nursery, post-harvest units, bee-keeping, and similar). A bank sanctions a term loan for it.
NABARD releases a credit-linked, back-ended composite subsidy against the bank loan: 36% of the project cost for general candidates and 44% for women, SC/ST candidates and candidates from the North-Eastern and hill states. The project-cost ceiling for subsidy is ₹20 lakh for an individual venture (₹25 lakh for an extremely successful individual case) and ₹100 lakh for a group project set up by at least five trained persons. Loan repayment runs 5 to 10 years with up to a two-year grace period. By recent count, around 82,776 candidates had been trained and about 36,265 agri-ventures established under the scheme, with Maharashtra accounting for the largest share.
Scheme highlights
A free 45-day residential training
MANAGE, Hyderabad runs the training through Nodal Training Institutes across the country — boarding, lodging and course material are covered. It teaches both the technical subject and how to build a bankable project.
A real 36-44% capital subsidy
NABARD releases a credit-linked, back-ended composite subsidy of 36% of project cost for general candidates and 44% for women, SC/ST candidates and those from the North-Eastern and hill states — held in a subsidy reserve fund and adjusted against the loan.
Soil labs and testing in the village
A common agri-clinic model is a village soil- and water-testing lab, so a farmer gets a fertiliser recommendation without sending a sample to a distant district lab and waiting weeks.
Custom hiring and equipment rental
An agri-business centre can be a farm-machinery custom-hiring and rental service — a tractor, rotavator, sprayer or thresher available for hire to smallholders who cannot buy their own.
Local inputs and advice together
Input retail (seed, fertiliser, plant-protection products) run by a trained agripreneur pairs the sale with proper advice on dose and timing — reducing the misuse that a general shop often encourages.
Group ventures for bigger projects
Five or more trained persons can set up a group project with a subsidy ceiling of ₹100 lakh — enough for a seed-processing unit, a cold room or a larger custom-hiring fleet.
What you get
Services closer to the farm
Soil testing, spare parts, spraying advice, para-vet care and quality inputs become available in or near the village instead of only in the district town.
Advice with a stake in the outcome
An agripreneur running a business depends on repeat farmer custom, so there is a commercial reason to give advice that actually works, unlike a one-off shop sale.
A funded route to self-employment
For the graduate or rural youth, the free training plus 36-44% subsidy plus bank loan is a genuine path to running an agri-enterprise rather than looking only for a salaried job.
Trained, not just licensed
The 45-day MANAGE training and follow-up handholding mean the person serving farmers has been assessed on the subject, not merely issued a trade licence.
Who is eligible
Both lists come from the notified operational guidelines — meeting the left column is not enough if anything in the right column applies to your family.
You qualify if
- Graduates in agriculture or allied subjects (horticulture, sericulture, veterinary, forestry, dairy, poultry, fisheries, agri-engineering, agri-marketing, food technology, home science with agri specialisation, and similar)
- Diploma (with at least 50% marks) or post-graduate diploma holders in agriculture and allied subjects from a recognised board or institute
- Biological science graduates with a post-graduate degree in agriculture or allied subjects
- Agriculture-related courses at intermediate (10+2) level with at least 55% marks, and degree courses recognised by UGC / ICAR with agriculture as a subject
Excluded — even with land
- Candidates with no agriculture or allied-subject qualification — the scheme is for agri-graduates, diploma holders and equivalent
- Expecting the subsidy without a bank term loan — it is credit-linked and released only against a sanctioned loan
- Expecting the subsidy up front — it is back-ended, parked in a subsidy reserve fund and adjusted after the project runs satisfactorily
- Skipping the 45-day MANAGE training — completion is mandatory before the loan-and-subsidy stage
Where this scheme applies
A central scheme with pan-India coverage — open to eligible farmers in every State and Union Territory.
Documents you need
Have these ready before you start — the online form takes ten minutes when nothing is missing.
Educational qualification certificates
Degree, diploma or intermediate mark sheets proving the agriculture or allied-subject qualification the scheme requires.
Identity and residence proof
Aadhaar and address proof for training registration on agriclinics.net and for the bank loan application.
Project report
A bankable Detailed Project Report for the proposed agri-clinic or agri-business centre — prepared with help during the MANAGE training.
Bank account and financial documents
Bank account details and the documents the lending bank asks for to appraise and sanction the term loan.
How to apply, step by step
The same six steps apply whether you register yourself online or sit down at a CSC.
- 1
Register on agriclinics.net
Create a profile on the MANAGE ACABC portal and apply for a training batch at a Nodal Training Institute near you.
- 2
Complete the 45-day free residential training
Attend the MANAGE-coordinated training covering the technical subject, enterprise planning and how to prepare a bankable project. Boarding and material are free.
- 3
Prepare the project and approach a bank
Finalise the Detailed Project Report for your agri-clinic or agri-business centre and apply to a bank for a term loan.
- 4
Bank sanctions the loan; NABARD reserves the subsidy
On loan sanction and disbursement, NABARD places the 36% (or 44%) credit-linked back-ended subsidy in a subsidy reserve fund against your account.
- 5
Run the venture; subsidy is adjusted
After the unit operates satisfactorily for the prescribed period, the reserved subsidy is adjusted against your loan, reducing the outstanding amount.
Important dates
Scheme launched
2002
Central Sector Scheme, with NABARD and MANAGE
Training duration
45 days
Free residential, through MANAGE Nodal Training Institutes
Loan repayment period
5-10 years
With a moratorium/grace period of up to 2 years
Facts last checked
6 September 2026
Against the MANAGE ACABC portal (agriclinics.net), the NABARD ACABC scheme page, and published scheme summaries of subsidy rates and training-and-venture figures
Check your eligibility
Straight from the notified criteria. Nothing you enter leaves your phone.
0 of 3 answered
This checker applies the criteria in the official operational guidelines, but it is guidance — only the state government’s verification against the land records is final.
Downloads
Official documents only — everything below is hosted on the government's own servers.
Official links & helpline
Bookmark the portal itself — no third-party site can release, block or speed up a payment.
- ACABC portal (MANAGE)agriclinics.net — the official portal to register, apply for training and track your application
- MANAGE, Hyderabadmanage.gov.in — the National Institute of Agricultural Extension Management that coordinates the training
- NABARD — ACABCnabard.org — the subsidy channelising agency's scheme page
- Department of Agriculture & Farmers Welfareagriwelfare.gov.in — the department administering the scheme
Frequently asked questions
Who is this scheme for — the farmer, or someone setting up a business?
It is for a person setting up a village-level agri-enterprise — usually an agriculture graduate, diploma holder or trained rural youth. Ordinary farmers benefit indirectly: they get a nearby soil lab, input shop, custom-hiring service or vet clinic run by a trained agripreneur.
What does the 45-day training cost?
Nothing. It is a free residential training coordinated by MANAGE, Hyderabad through its Nodal Training Institutes, with boarding, lodging and course material covered.
How much subsidy is available and how is it paid?
A credit-linked, back-ended composite subsidy of 36% of the project cost for general candidates, and 44% for women, SC/ST candidates and candidates from the North-Eastern and hill states. NABARD parks it in a subsidy reserve fund against your bank loan and adjusts it after the venture operates satisfactorily.
What is the maximum project cost eligible for subsidy?
₹20 lakh for an individual venture (₹25 lakh for an extremely successful individual case) and ₹100 lakh for a group project established by at least five trained persons.
What kind of ventures can be set up?
Agri-clinics (soil, water and input testing, crop and animal health advisory, plant protection) and agri-business centres (input retail, farm-machinery custom hiring and rental, seed processing, nurseries, post-harvest units, bee-keeping, vermicompost and similar).
Is a bank loan compulsory?
Yes for the subsidy. The subsidy is credit-linked, so it is released only against a term loan sanctioned by a bank for the approved project. Repayment runs 5 to 10 years with up to a two-year grace period.
How do I apply?
Register on the MANAGE ACABC portal, agriclinics.net, and apply for a training batch at a Nodal Training Institute near you. After completing the training, prepare your project report and approach a bank.
How is ACABC different from SMAE / the Kisan Call Centre?
SMAE funds government extension — ATMA training, the Kisan Call Centre, mKisan — which is free public advice. ACABC creates private, trained agri-entrepreneurs who provide paid advice and services locally, backed by a loan and subsidy.
Still have questions?
The FAQs above cover the common ones. For anything about your specific application, the ministry helpline undefined is the authoritative answer — and we are happy to point you in the right direction.