What is the difference between a Custom Hiring Centre and a Farm Machinery Bank under SMAM?

Both are about sharing machines so small farmers can use equipment without buying it, but they differ in who owns and runs them. A Custom Hiring Centre (CHC) is usually run by an individual entrepreneur, cooperative, FPO or SHG as a small business that rents machines to farmers for a fee. A Farm Machinery Bank (FMB) is more often a village or group-based pool of machines, frequently set up for SHGs, farmer groups or villages, and members or local farmers use the machines on a hire basis. The subsidy for both is project-based, commonly around 40 percent of machinery cost for the standard category, with the rest from own funds and loan. The exact grant share, the eligible groups, and the project ceilings differ by state and by the size of the bank, so check your state agriculture or agrimachinery portal for the current FMB and CHC norms.