PM Modi says, goal of complete development cannot be achieved until agriculture related challenges are addressed
New Delhi, February 24
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said that the goal of complete development cannot be achieved until the challenges related to the agriculture sector are eliminated. The Prime Minister observed that private innovation and investment are keeping a distance from this sector which leads to low participation of India’s youth in the agricultural sector compared to the other sectors.
Addressing the post budget webinar on Agriculture and Cooperatives on Friday, Mr Modi highlighted that various announcements have been made in this year’s budget to fill this lacuna. He urged the youth to work towards delivering the right advice at the right time while creating a bridge of information between the government and the farmer about their innovations and also assisting in policy making. The Prime Minister also touched upon using drones for crop approximation while providing real-time information about weather changes.
Prime Minister Modi highlighted the importance given to the agricultural sector in the Union Budget 2023-24 as well as budgets of the past 8 to 9 years. He informed that the agricultural budget which was less than 25,000 crores in 2014 has been increased to more than one lakh 25,000 crores today. He added that every budget in recent years has been called a budget for Gaon, Gareeb and Kisan.
Noting that India’s agricultural sector remained distressed for a long time since independence, the Prime Minister pointed out the country’s dependence on the outside world for our food security. He highlighted how India’s farmers transformed the situation by not only making the nation self-reliant but also capable of exporting food grains. The Prime Minister also stated that India’s goal should not be limited to rice or wheat when it comes to self-sufficiency or export.
Highlighting the imports in the agricultural sector, he gave examples of expenditures of 17,000 crore rupees in 2021-22 for the import of pulses and 25,000 crore rupees for the import of Value Added Food Products and 1.5 lakh crore rupees spent on the import of edible oils in 2021-22. The Prime Minister emphasized that various decisions are being continuously taken in the budget to promote the agricultural sector so that the nation becomes atmanirbhar’ and the money used for imports can reach the farmers.
Informing about the introduction of accelerator funds for agri-tech startups, Mr Modi added that the government is not only creating digital infrastructure but also preparing funding avenues. He pointed out that India is home to more than 3000 agri-startups today compared to next to nothing 9 years ago. He also touched upon the International Year of Millets and said that its international identity is opening a gateway to the global market for Indian farmers.
On cooperatives, the Prime Minister said that a new revolution is taking place in the cooperative sector of India. He informed that tax-related reliefs have been given to the cooperative sector in this year’s budget which will benefit new cooperative societies engaged in manufacturing. He further added that TDS will not be levied on cash withdrawals up to three crore rupees by cooperative societies.
The Prime Minister touched upon the PM Pranam Yojana and Gobardhan Yojana where the government is working towards promoting natural farming and reducing chemical-based farming.