Cabinet okays Rs 1L crore for agri schemes to boost farm income
The Cabinet on Thursday cleared two schemes aimed at increasing farmers’ income and ensuring food security — the Pradhan Mantri Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana (PMKVY) and Krishonnati scheme.
The Cabinet has allocated Rs 1,01,321 crore for the two schemes, with I&B Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw saying that these initiatives would give a boost to agricultural productivity, organic farming, soil health and advanced farming techniques. Under PM-RKVY, the focus would be on enhancing agricultural productivity through various measures like soil health and fertility, rainfed area development and agricultural mechanisation. The scheme also prioritises ‘Paramparagat Krishi Vikas Yojana’ for organic farming, ‘Per Drop More Crop’, and innovative programmes such as the ‘Accelerator Fund for Agri Start-ups’.
The minister added that the focus of the schemes was to better the value chain and were dependent on technology. Krishonnati Yojana, the parallel scheme, supports broader agricultural development with initiatives such as the National Food Security and Nutrition Mission, Mission for Integrated Development of Horticulture and Sub-Mission on Agriculture Extension. It also focuses on increasing oil production through National Mission on Edible Oils and promotes advanced farming techniques under the Digital Agriculture Mission, the minister said.
He added that the National Mission on Edible Oils, which is a component of the two schemes, has been cleared to make India self-reliant in oilseed production. The government has allocated an outlay of Rs 10,103 crore for this.
Under this mission, the production of oilseeds is to be increased from 12,700 million per hectares to 20,000 million per hectares by 2030. With an eye on the forthcoming Assembly elections in Maharashtra, the Cabinet also decided to give classical language status to Marathi along with Assamese, Bengali, Pali and Prakrit.
