New Delhi: Farmers’ welfare and boosting rural demand is one of the main highlights of the interim budget 2024-25 presented by Nirmala Sitharaman, Minister for Finance & Corporate Affairs, Government of India, in Parliament today. Terming farmers as ‘Annadata’, Sitharaman said that minimum support prices (MSP) for the produce of ‘Annadata’ are periodically increased appropriately. The finance minister said that every year, under PM-Kisan Samman Yojana, direct financial assistance is provided to 11.8 crore farmers, including marginal and small farmers, while crop insurance is given to 4 crore farmers under PM Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY). She said that these, besides several other programmes, are assisting ‘Annadata’ in producing food for the country and the world and added that the worries about food have been eliminated through free rations for 80 crore people.
The interim budget 2024-25 has promised to step up value addition in the agricultural sector and boosting of farmers’ income. Union Minister for Finance & Corporate Affairs, Nirmala Sitharaman promised to further promote private and public investment in post-harvest activities including aggregation, modern storage, efficient supply chains, primary and secondary processing and marketing and branding to ensure faster growth of the agriculture and food processing sector.
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“The sector is poised for inclusive, balanced, higher growth and productivity. These are facilitated by farmer-centric policies, income support, coverage of risks through price and insurance support, promotion of technologies and innovations through startups,” the Finance Minister mentioned in her speech.
She said that Pradhan Mantri Formalisation of Micro Food Processing Enterprises Yojana (PMFME) has assisted 2.4 lakh self-help groups (SHGs) and 60,000 individuals with credit linkages. The finance minister added that other schemes are complementing the efforts for reducing post-harvest losses, and improving productivity and incomes Sitharaman mentioned that Pradhan Mantri Kisan Sampada Yojana has benefitted 38 lakh farmers and generated 10 lakh employment. The finance minister said the Electronic National Agriculture Market (e-NAM) has integrated 1,361 mandis, and is providing services to 1.8 crore farmers with a trading volume of Rs. 3 lakh crores.
“These and the provision of basic necessities have enhanced real income in the rural areas. Their economic needs could be addressed, thus spurring growth and generating jobs,” the finance minister asserted.
Atmanirbhar Oilseeds Abhiyan
The interim budget 2024-25 presented by Union Minister for Finance & Corporate Affairs, Nirmala Sitharaman has said a strategy will be formulated to achieve ‘atmanirbharta’ for oilseeds such as mustard, groundnut, sesame, soybean, and sunflower. The finance minister mentioned in her speech that this would cover research for high-yielding varieties, widespread adoption of modern farming techniques, market linkages, procurement, value addition, and crop insurance.
Nano DAP
“After the successful adoption of Nano Urea, application of Nano DAP on various crops will be expanded in all agro-climatic zones,” the Union finance minister mentioned in her speech.
