Prime Minister Narendra Modi today released the next installment of financial benefit under Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM-KISAN) through a video conference. The Prime Minister also interacted with farmer beneficiaries during the event. This enabled the transfer of an amount of more than Rs. 19,500 crore to more than 9.75 crore beneficiary farmer families. It was the 9th installment of the financial benefit under Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM-KISAN).
Addressing the gathering, the Prime Minister talked of the sowing season and expressed the hope that the amount received today would help the farmers.
The Prime Minister remarked that the small farmers are now being given utmost priority in the agricultural policies of the country. With this spirit, in the last few years, serious efforts were being made to provide convenience and security to these small farmers. Under PM Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM-KISAN), Rs 100,060 crore has been given to farmers so far. Out which Rs 100,000 were transferred to small farmers during the pandemic period. More than two crore Kisan Credit Cards were issued during the Corona pandemic, most of them to small farmers. Such farmers will be benefitted from the agriculture infrastructure and connectivity infrastructure that is coming up in the country. Initiatives like Food Parks, Kisan Rails and Infrastructure Fund will help small farmers. In the year gone by, more than 6,000 projects have been approved under the Infrastructure Fund. These steps increase the small farmer’s access to the market and his bargaining power through FPOs, said the Prime Minister.
He also mentioned that the scheme of Agriculture Infrastructure Fund with Rs 100,000 crore corpus also completes one year today. The Prime Minister touched upon initiatives like Mission Honey-Bee and making saffron from Jammu & Kashmir in the NAFED (National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India) shops. The honey mission has led to a Rs 700 crore export of honey resulting in extra income for farmers.
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Referring to the upcoming 75th Independence Day, he said that apart from being an occasion for the pride it would be also an opportunity for new resolutions. We have to take this opportunity to decide where we want to see India in the next 25 years, he said. The Prime Minister remarked that our agriculture and our farmers have a big role in determining the condition of India in 2047, when the country completes 100 years of independence. It is time to give direction to India’s agriculture to face new challenges and take advantage of new opportunities. He called for changes in Indian agriculture according to the demands of changing times. He lauded the farmers for record production during the pandemic and outlined the government’s measures to reduce the hardships of farmers during the difficult period.
The Prime Minister highlighted National Edible Oil Mission-Oil Palm i.e. NMEO-OP as a pledge for achieving self-reliance in edible oil. Today, when the country is remembering the Quit India Movement, on this historic day, this resolve fills us with new energy, he said. He said that through the National Edible Oil Mission-Oil Palm mission, more than Rs 11,000 crore will be invested in the cooking oil ecosystem. The government will ensure that farmers get all the facilities, from quality seeds to technology. Today, when India is being recognised as a big agricultural exporting country, it is not right to stay dependent on imports for our needs of edible oil.
