E-NAM
National Agriculture Market or eNAM (where e is to be construed as electronic or digital) is an online trading platform for agricultural commodities in India. The market facilitates farmers, traders and buyers with online trading in commodities. The market helps in better price discovery and providing facilities for smooth marketing of produce. The market transactions stood at by January 2018, mostly intra-market. Over 90 commodities including staple food grains, vegetables and fruits are currently listed in its list of commodities available for trade. The eNAM markets are proving popular as the crops are weighed immediately and the stock is lifted on the same day and the payments are cleared online. In February 2018, some attractive features like MIS dashboard, BHIM and other mobile payments, enhanced features on the mobile app such as gate entry and payment through mobile phones and farmers database is helping adoption even more. The present trading is done mostly for intra-market, but in phases, it will be rolled out to trade in inter-market, inter-state, creating a unified national market for agricultural commodities. History It was launched by the Ministry of Agriculture, Government of India. The electronic market pilot across India was launched on 14 April 2016 by Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi. The Portal is managed by Small Farmers Agribusiness Consortium (SFAC) with the technology provider, NFCL’s iKisan division. A similar project was initiated by the Congress government in the State of Karnataka, during UPA tenure and had been a great success. NDA government has rolled it out nationally. About On the eNAM platform, farmers can opt to trade directly on their own through the mobile app or through registered commission agents. The eNAM is linked with 1000 markets (APMCs) in 18 states and 2 union territory, with over 50 lakh farmer membership in 18 states. The market is helping traders and exporters in procuring quality products in bulk, at one place and ensure transparent financial transactions. The Government plans to connect over 22,000 GrAMs, local farmers markets, with the platform. To provide better grading and assaying services, the Agriculture Department is looking at looping in AGMARK for better certification. Technology The trading is done online, with trading computers or through an eNAM mobile application is available on Android for farmers and traders to bid and complete a transaction on the app, available in 8 languages. The MIS dashboard was introduced in February 2018, to give a greater insight into the performance of each market (mandi) in terms of arrival and trade in commodities. The payment network RTGS/NEFT, debit card and internet banking was also integrated into the app. In 2017 mobile payment, Unified Payment Interface (UPI) facility through BHIM support was added in the app. Kotak Mahindra Bank (KMBL) has been selected as a digital payments partner by the National Agriculture Market (eNAM). KMBL will enable and facilitate online transactions for all stakeholders on the eNAM platform, including farmers, traders and farmer producer organizations (FPOs). Under this initiative, Kotak Mahindra Bank will provide payment,