Promotion of Intensive Aquaculture through Introduction of Bio-floc Technology

The scheme "Promotion of Intensive Aquaculture through Introduction of Bio-floc Technology" was launched by the Fisheries & Animal Resources Development Department, Government of Odisha. It aims to promote sustainable intensification of the freshwater fish and brackish water shrimp farming for boosting productivity and generating high income in a limited area. Through this scheme, subsidy assistance at 40% of the unit cost for the General Category and at 60% of the Unit Cost for the SC / ST / Women Category is provided to farmers interested in taking up grow-out tanks, nursery and seed tanks; fish and shrimp hatchery operators; private entrepreneurs; and unemployed youth. The scheme is implemented by the Directorate of Fisheries through District Fisheries Officers and the field functionaries under the supervision of the Zonal Deputy Director of Fisheries. The total outlay under the said programme is Rs.2525.00 lakh. During the current year, 5000 nos. of Bio-floc tanks will be developed under this programme with subsidy support under the state plan. Subsidy amount shall be released to Aadhaar linked Bank Account of the beneficiary in two phases. The beneficiary shall construct the Bio-floc unit as per the minimum design and specification shown in the tables in the guideline pdf.

Objectives

1. To promote high-yielding intensive fish farming in a small area using Bio-floc technology.
2. To encourage farmers, entrepreneurs, and unemployed youth into income generation through the small-scale Bio-floc farming system.

Subsidy Assistance

1. Subsidy assistance is provided at 40% of the unit cost for the General Category and at 60% of the Unit Cost for the Scheduled Caste (SC) / Scheduled Tribe (ST) / Women Category.
2. Financial assistance is provided in the form of a back-ended subsidy.
3. The assistance under the special package is available for a minimum of 2 tanks and a maximum of 6 tanks.
4. If a beneficiary has availed a subsidy earlier for the installation of a Bio-floc unit under different schemes of the Government of India and State Government for less than 6 tanks, he/she shall also be eligible to avail further subsidy under this scheme. However, in such cases, the subsidy shall be limited to a maximum of 6 tanks, including the installation of tanks earlier.
5. The total outlay under the said programme is ₹2525.00 lakh.

Model-Wise Unit Cost and Subsidy:

• Under the PVC / Tarpaulin model, the unit cost for Two Tanks is ₹1.50/- lakh with a subsidy of ₹60,000/- for the General Category and ₹90,000/- for the SC / ST / Women Category. For Four Tanks, the unit cost is ₹3.00/- lakh with a subsidy of ₹1,20,000/- for the General Category and ₹1,80,000/- for SC / ST / Women Category. For Six Tanks, the unit cost is ₹4.00/- lakh with a subsidy of ₹1,60,000/- for the General Category and ₹2,40,000/- for SC / ST / Women Category.
• Under the Brick Masonry model, the unit cost for Two Tanks is ₹2.00/- lakh with a subsidy of ₹80,000/- for the General Category and ₹1,20,000/- for the SC / ST / Women Category. For Four Tanks, the unit cost is ₹4.00/- lakh with a subsidy of ₹1,60,000/- for the General Category and ₹2,40,000/- for SC / ST / Women Category. For Six Tanks, the unit cost is ₹6.00/- lakh with a subsidy of ₹2,40,000/- for the General Category and ₹3,60,000/- for SC / ST / Women Category.

Component-Wise Assistance (Two Tanks – 30 Cubic Meter Capacity)

• PVC / Tarpaulin Model

  1. For two tanks of 30 cubic meter capacity, the Bio-floc Tank (PVC / Tarpaulin / Polyliner with frames, solid base, drain pipe, and fish net covering) has a unit cost of ₹40,000/- with a subsidy of ₹16,000/- at 40% and ₹24,000/- at 60%.
  2. The Green House Shed with Entry Door, including installation costs (GI Frames covered with shade net; Floor area 50 square meters; Height 3 meters; Specification & Drawing in Annexure-I) has a unit cost of ₹60,000/- with a subsidy of ₹24,000/- at 40% and ₹36,000/- at 60%.
  3. The Electric Water Pump (0.5 Horse Power) has a unit cost of ₹4,000/- with a subsidy of ₹1,600/- at 40% and ₹2,400/- at 60%.
  4. The Ring Blower / High-Pressure Air Pump has a unit cost of ₹20,000/- with a subsidy of ₹8,000/- at 40% and ₹12,000/- at 60%.
  5. The Electronic Weighing Balance has a unit cost of ₹1,000/- with a subsidy of ₹400/- at 40% and ₹600/- at 60%.
  6. The Uninterrupted Power Supply Unit with Inverter (1100 Volt Ampere) and Battery (150 Ampere Hour) or Portable Genset (1 Kilowatt) has a unit cost of ₹25,000/- with a subsidy of ₹10,000/- at 40% and ₹15,000/- at 60%.
  7. The grand total unit cost for this model is ₹1,50,000/- with a subsidy of ₹60,000/- at 40% and ₹90,000/- at 60%.

• Brick Masonry Model (30 Cubic Meter Capacity)

  1. For two tanks of 30 cubic meter capacity, the Bio-floc Tank (Brick Masonry Tanks with frames, solid base, drain pipe, and fish net covering) has a unit cost of ₹90,000/- with a subsidy of ₹36,000/- at 40% and ₹54,000/- at 60%.
  2. The Green House Shed with Entry Door, including installation costs, has a unit cost of ₹60,000/- with a subsidy of ₹24,000/- at 40% and ₹36,000/- at 60%.
  3. The Electric Water Pump (0.5 Horse Power) has a unit cost of ₹4,000/- with a subsidy of ₹1,600/- at 40% and ₹2,400/- at 60%.
  4. The Ring Blower / High-Pressure Air Pump has a unit cost of ₹20,000/- with a subsidy of ₹8,000/- at 40% and ₹12,000/- at 60%.
  5. The Electronic Weighing Balance has a unit cost of ₹1,000/- with a subsidy of ₹400/- at 40% and ₹600/- at 60%.
  6. The Uninterrupted Power Supply Unit with Inverter (1100 Volt Ampere) and Battery (150 Ampere Hour) or Portable Genset (1 Kilowatt) has a unit cost of ₹25,000/- with a subsidy of ₹10,000/- at 40% and ₹15,000/- at 60%.
  7. The grand total unit cost for this model is ₹2,00,000/- with a subsidy of ₹80,000/- at 40% and ₹1,20,000/- at 60%.

Disbursement of Funds:

1. Subsidy amount shall be released to Aadhaar linked Bank Account of the beneficiary through Direct Benefit Transfer.
2. Subsidy shall be released in two phases.

- 40% of the subsidy shall be released after the installation of the Bio-floc unit.
- Rest 60% back-ended subsidy shall be released after completion of the project. 

Note - Conditions Linked to Benefits:

1. The beneficiary shall construct the Bio-floc unit as per the minimum design and specification shown in the tables in the guidelines.
2. Only items mentioned in the unit cost, namely tarpaulin / PVC Tanks, Blower, Water Pump, Genset, and Shed, are eligible under subsidy upon submission of actual GST bills for those items.

1. The applicant must be a resident/domicile of the state of Odisha.
2. The applicant shall be a farmer interested in taking up grow-out tanks, nursery, and seed tanks.
3. The applicant shall be a fish and shrimp hatchery operator.
4. The applicant shall be a private entrepreneur.
5. The applicant shall be an unemployed educated youth.
6. The eligible brackish water shrimp farms/nurseries and seed tanks/hatchery beneficiaries must have a license from the Coastal Aquaculture Authority.
7. The assistance under the special package shall be available to the above categories of beneficiaries with a minimum of 2 tanks and a maximum of 6 tanks.
8. If a beneficiary has availed a subsidy earlier for the installation of a Bio-floc unit under different schemes of the Government of India and State Government, for less than 6 nos. of tanks, he/she shall also be eligible to avail further subsidy under this scheme. However, in such cases, the subsidy shall be limited to a maximum of 6 tanks, which will include the installation of tanks earlier.

Preference / Priority / Reservation

• Priority will be given to unemployed educated youth since Bio-floc farming involves advanced technology, and the beneficiary has to undergo specialized training on Bio-floc systems before operation of the unit.

Offline

Step 1: The scheme shall be advertised through the Departmental website, newspapers, and wall posters in the District and Block Fisheries Offices across the State. The Director of Fisheries shall undertake wide publicity of the scheme.
Step 2: Interested farmers (Grow-Out Tanks, Nursery and Seed Tanks); fish and shrimp hatchery operators; private entrepreneurs; unemployed youth shall apply in the prescribed format as specified in Annexure-I and submit the filled-in application form along with the required documents to the respective District Fisheries Officer through hardcopy or through email. The applications can also be submitted online to the Directorate of Fisheries, Odisha, Cuttack, through email - [email protected]. Identification of beneficiaries shall be made with Aadhaar linking at the time of submission of the application.
Step 3: The applications received by the Directorate of Fisheries, Cuttack, through e-mail shall be forwarded to the respective District Fisheries Officers for necessary action. The District Fisheries Officer, on receipt of the applications, shall forward them to the concerned Assistant Fisheries Officer for necessary site inspection. The initial geo-tagged photographs of the site/fish farm, along with the beneficiary and field verification report, shall be prepared by the Assistant Fisheries Officer and submitted to the District Fisheries Officer as per the format enclosed at Annexure-II. The Assistant Fisheries Officer shall ensure that the project proposed by the beneficiary is completely new.
Step 4: Each beneficiary shall select two persons, including him/her, for undergoing training on Bio-floc technology, and the list of trainees shall be submitted to the District Fisheries Officer. The District Fisheries Officer shall submit the list of such trainees to the Directorate of Fisheries before issue ofthe Go-Ahead to the beneficiary. The Directorate of Fisheries shall organize the training on Bio-floc technology for the beneficiaries nominated by the District Fisheries Officers at the Zonal Level.
Step 5: The District Fisheries Officer shall issue a Go-Ahead letter to the selected beneficiaries to take up the Bio-floc farm unit installation based on the feasibility report of the Assistant Fisheries Officer.
Step 6: The beneficiary shall install the Bio-floc farm unit as per the approved design and complete the stocking of fish/shrimp seed. The beneficiary shall inform the concerned Assistant Fisheries Officer upon completion of the unit.
Step 7: A District Level Inspection Team comprising the District Fisheries Officer, Assistant Fisheries Officer / SFTA / JFTA I/C of the Block and Panchayat Extension Officer shall undertake joint field inspection of the site. Geo-tagged post-installation photographs of the Bio-floc units, along with the beneficiary, shall be taken upon completion of installation and stocking. The beneficiaries shall submit the GST bills/receipts towards the installation of the Bio-floc unit. Only items mentioned in the unit cost are eligible under the subsidy upon submission of actual GST bills for those items.
Step 8: The District Fisheries Officer shall release the subsidy to the beneficiaries through Direct Benefit Transfer to the Aadhaar-linked Bank Account only on the eligible items in the Bio-floc units after proper verification of the GST bills/receipts.

Note (Annexures):

1. Annexure-I contains the prescribed Application Form format to be used by the applicant, given in the guidelines pdf. 1. Annexure-II contains the format for the field verification report and geo-tagged photographs to be submitted by the Assistant Fisheries Officer.
2. Specification & Drawing for Green House Shed are provided in Annexure-I.

1. Identification Proof (Aadhaar Card)
2. Land Document (Photocopy)
3. Consent Letter From Bank (If Bank Loan)
4. Passport-Size Photo (Self-attested, 3.5 cm × 3.5 cm)
5. Bank Account Number With IFS Code For Direct Benefit Transfer (Photocopy)
6. Photograph Of The First Page Of The Bank Passbook
7. GST Bills / Receipts Towards Installation Of Bio-Floc Unit
8. Coastal Aquaculture Authority License (For Brackish Water Farm / Shrimp Hatchery Beneficiaries)