New Delhi: Many key provisions for agriculture and farmers’ welfare have been made in the budget for the financial year 2023-24. He expresses his gratitude to Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi and Finance Minister Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman, Union Minister for Agriculture and Farmer Shri Narendra Singh Tomar said that the budget aims at inclusive and comprehensive development of farmers, apart from poor and middle class, women and youth. Shri Tomar said that the budget will benefit the small farmers while as per the vision of Prime Minister Shri Modi, the budget emphasizes on promoting the modernization of the agriculture sector by linking agriculture with technology so that the farmers get comprehensive benefits in the long run. .
Union Agriculture Minister Shri Tomar said that the total budget of the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, including agricultural education and research, is about Rs 1.25 crore this time. Out of this provision of Rs. 60,000 crore has been made for the Modi government’s ambitious scheme – Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM-Kisan). There are about 86 percent small farmers in the country who benefit greatly from the Kisan Credit Card (KCC). This time Rs 23,000 crore has been allocated for it so that our farmer brothers and sisters can continue to enjoy its benefits. With a focus on animal production, dairying and fisheries, the agricultural credit target has been raised to Rs 20 crore. 450 crore has been provided for the digital agriculture mission launched by the Modi government and around Rs.2. 600 crore allocated to support agriculture through technology.
Shri Tomar said that the Prime Minister has taken the initiative to make natural farming a mass movement for which Rs.459 crore has been provided. In 3 years, 1 million farmers will be supported for natural farming, for which 10,000 Bio Input Research Centers will be opened. In organizing small and medium farmers through FPOs, a target has been set to provide them with all agriculture related facilities for which 10,000 new FPOs are being set up. This FPO is a revolutionary step towards raising the standard of living of small and medium farmers, the benefits of which have started trickling down to these farmers as well.
To maintain the same momentum in the future, a budgetary provision of Rs 955 crore has been earmarked this year for the creation of new FPOs, while the Agriculture Infra and Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana fund benefiting farmers has been enhanced. Food and nutrition security is one of the priorities of the Union government, whose budget has been increased to Rs 1,623 crore. Shri Tomar said that priority will be given to startups related to agriculture. An Agricultural Acceleration Fund will be set up to support start-up agricultural businesses of young entrepreneurs for which 500 million rupees have been earmarked for a period of 5 years. Millet will now be known as Shri-Anna. India is at the forefront of programs to popularize Srianna. The Indian Millets Research Centre, Hyderabad will be upgraded to a center of excellence to excel at the global level as well. For the development of the horticulture sector, the budget has been increased to Rs 2,200 crore.
This first public welfare budget of Amritkaal is India’s vision budget for the centenary year of India’s independence. The Modi government is constantly working on an ambitious public interest agenda. In this series, 80 million people are getting free ration under the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojana, which has been running for the poor since the Covid epidemic, and now the scheme is being extended for another year in the budget.
Since the Prime Minister assumed office in 2014, the government has been striving to improve the lives of the common people, resulting in a per capita income of Rs 1.97 crore. set in the budget and for income tax payers. In another boost to the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana, the allocation has increased by about 66 percent to Rs 79,000 crore. Employment will also grow with the budget. A national digital library will be established for children and youth. In the next 3 years, 38,800 teachers and support staff will be appointed for 740 Eklavja schools, while the provision of 157 new nursing colleges along with the existing 157 medical colleges established since 2014 is a welcome step. Small and medium industries affected by corona were also given relief in this budget.
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