Centre looks to set-up own company to promote select rural products

Talks are on with Tata Trusts and Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to provide professional support

The government is planning to set up a Section 8 company to identify 20-30 farm and non-farm products from villages, and develop end-to-end solutions for them. This could include identifying market linkages, export destinations, and creating value chains.

A Section 8 company is registered under this section of the Companies Act, 2013, to promote commerce, art, etc.

Officials aware of the development said under the National Rural Livelihood Mission (NRLM), the government is empowered to start such a company or a farmers-producer organisation (FPO) to support rural livelihood. In the 1990s, the government had set up a Small