The RKVY-Innovation and Agri-entrepreneurship Programme, formerly known as RAFTAAR, was launched by the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Government of India, in 2019. This Department has appointed five Knowledge Partners (KPs) and twenty-four RKVY Agribusiness Incubators (R-ABIs) from across the country for implementation assistance and incubation of startups under this programme. Under the programme, the financial support is provided to entrepreneurs in the field of agriculture & allied sector to set up their startups. For this, a financial support of Rs. 5.00 lakh is provided at the idea/pre-seed stage and Rs. 25 lakhs at the seed stage as grant-in-aid under the programme. Technical and financial assistance is provided to startups to launch their products, services, business platforms, etc., into the market and facilitate them to scale up their products and operations to attain business viability. Since its inception, the KRISHIK-ABI at UAS Dharwad has made significant achievements in supporting over 111 start-ups with funding of ₹12 crore, trained over 300 incubates, generated ₹16.3 crore of revenue, and created 960 employment opportunities, including 25 women-led startups and 11 patent, benefited 1.2 Lakh farmers across the region.

To ensure post-project sustainability, a Section 8 Company, Association for Startups and Technology Refinement in Agriculture (ASTRA), has been incorporated.