Bengaluru: Karnataka Agriculture Minister B C Patil said on Wednesday the Government would soon unveil a policy framework on agri start-ups and operational guidelines.

Patil said agri start-ups can provide missing links in the agricultural value chain and deliver efficient, innovative products, technologies and services to farmers and consumers.

Addressing a virtual session ofFICCI (Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry) summit and awards for agri start-ups,he said the food and agriculture practices and enterprises in India are poised for transformational changes in line with the new government policies.

"Agriculture has been rapidly evolving into agri business in terms of approach and structure," he was quoted as saying in a FICCI statement.

To develop congenial eco-system for agri start-ups in Karnataka, a committee had been constituted to formulate a policy framework on agri start-ups and operational guidelines.

"The committee has submitted the policy documents to the government, and we are in the process of releasing it shortly," he said, according to the statement.

Chairman, FICCI National Agriculture Committee & Group President (Corporate Relations & Alliances), TAFE Ltd, T R Kesavan said said every agri start-up has its own strength and there is a need to create a dedicated cell for agri start-ups.

Chairman, FICCI Task Force on Agri Start-ups, Hemendra Mathur said: "Bengaluru is the tech capital of the country and we must think towards building a centre for excellence in the agriculture sector with the kind of talent and resources that we have in Karnataka".

Pravesh Sharma, Chairman, FICCI Task Force on FPOs and Co-founder and CEO, Kamatan Farm Tech Pvt Ltd, emphasised on having state-level agri start-up policy for different states and this should be supported by a dedicated organisation to promote agri start-ups.

FICCI Secretary General Dilip Chenoy said the agriculture ecosystem is witnessing a wave of entrepreneurship with disruptive and futuristic ideas.

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Mumbai (PTI): The Bombay High Court on Thursday granted bail to consultant Chetan Patil arrested in connection with the collapse of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj''s statue at Rajkot fort in Malvan in August.

A 35-foot statue of the iconic Maratha warrior king collapsed in Sindhudurg district on August 26, nearly nine months after Prime Minister Narendra Modi unveiled it on Navy Day.

Patil was arrested on August 30 from Kolhapur.

A single bench of Justice A S Kilor on Thursday held that no case was made out to implicate Patil in the case as he had not been appointed as the structural designer of the statue.

The bench further said Patil had only submitted a structural stability report of the pedestal of the statue and the pedestal was intact even after the collapse.

Another accused, Jaydeep Apte, who was the sculptor and contractor, was also arrested in the case. The HC said it would hear his bail plea on November 25.

The Sindhudurg police had registered an FIR under Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita for negligence and other offences last month against Apte and Patil for the statue's collapse.

Patil and Apte moved HC seeking bail after a sessions court rejected their pleas.