Balwaan Krishi Opens Chennai and Visakhapatnam Hubs
Why in the news
A farm-machinery startup from Rajasthan is building physical presence in the south, with two new hubs to speed up delivery and farmer contact across five states. The news also brings farm mechanisation schemes into focus.
Key facts
- Company: Balwaan Krishi, headquartered in Jaipur; targets small and marginal farmers.
- Chennai hub: 14,000 sq ft, ₹50 lakh investment, supply chain for all 38 districts of Tamil Nadu through 34 dealers.
- The Chennai hub is also the main entry point to Andhra Pradesh, with 59 dealer partners.
- Target region: Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka and Kerala.
- Jobs: each cluster is expected to create 5-8 direct and indirect jobs in warehousing, logistics and field support.
Product and growth focus
| State | Machines in focus | Growth route |
|---|---|---|
| Tamil Nadu | Power weeders, brush cutters, sprayers, water pumps, harvesting equipment | FPOs, cooperatives and agri-input dealer networks |
| Andhra Pradesh | Power tillers, power weeders, battery-operated sprayers, harvesters | Field demonstrations by dealers, local farmer engagement, tie-ups with government programmes |
About Balwaan Krishi
- Founded in 2016 by brothers Rohit Bajaj and Shubham Bajaj; mission is affordable mechanisation for small and marginal farmers, who are about 86% of India’s farming community.
- Mixes dealer sales with online sales through Amazon, Flipkart, Moglix, BigHaat, IndustryBuying and Tractor Junction; has served over 10 lakh farmers.
- Brought out what it calls India’s first ISI-marked farm equipment range in July 2023.
- A new Jaipur manufacturing hub was commissioned in September 2025; lead investor is JM Financial Private Equity.
Farm mechanisation schemes in the report
- SMAM: started 2014-15; 40-50% subsidy on tractors, power tillers and combine harvesters for small and marginal farmers; merged with RKVY in September 2022; about 14.2 lakh machines distributed.
- Custom Hiring Centres: rental access to machines; SMAM 2026 reforms favour CHCs and FPOs over individual ownership.
- 10,000 FPOs scheme: launched February 2020, outlay ₹6,865 crore, agencies NABARD, SFAC and NCDC, target 10,000 new FPOs by 2027-28.
- Others: PM-KUSUM (solar irrigation pumps), Agriculture Infrastructure Fund (₹1 lakh crore corpus, interest subvention for warehousing, cold chains and primary processing), e-NAM (national agri-market).
About FPOs
- A farmer-owned legal entity, registered as a producer company under the Companies Act, 2013, or as a cooperative.
- Pools small-holder produce and offers bulk input purchase, market access, value addition and credit access.
Exam angle
- Nodal agencies for the 10,000 FPO scheme: NABARD, SFAC (Small Farmers’ Agri-Business Consortium), NCDC.
- ISI mark is the Bureau of Indian Standards mark of conformity.
- Power tiller: small walking tractor for ploughing and land preparation; brush cutter: handheld tool for shrubs, weeds and grass.
- Static link: SMAM and RKVY merger in September 2022.