The state government through its Mandi Board had recently sent a proposal to launch the platform from Karond mandi (10 km away from Bhopal).

• The central government has agreed to release Rs 15 crore for all 50 mandis to equip them with online support system, software, hardware, and grading of farm yield.
• The Mandi Board will also chip in with further funds if required to upgrade mandis to enable them to sync with the NAM (National Agriculture Market) platform.
• The NAM platform requires a regulator, a warehousing agency, a grading agency, aggregators and third-party payment system to complete the process of e-auction.
• Trading would gradually include more commodities to be auctioned through the NAM platform.
• For logistics management, states will rope in transporters for traded commodities across India.
• At present, farmers sell their farm yield only at nearby mandis by transporting their farm yield.
• A fair quantity is lost either in transportation, distress or need-based sale and fetch low returns to their farm yield.

Besides Karond, 50 out of a total of 257 mandis in the state will also have similar facility for farmers in the near future.