Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman made big announcements for the agriculture sector
New Delhi, February 1, 2021: The central government on Monday made several important announcements for the agriculture sector, amid the ongoing farmers’ agitation on the various borders of Delhi. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, presenting the Union Budget for the year 2021-22, announced an increase in the Agricultural Credit Target for the agricultural sector.
The Finance Minister also said that his government is committed to working for the betterment of farmers. Sitharaman, while presenting the budget in Parliament, said that the target is to provide more agricultural credit to farmers in 2021-22. This target is Rs 16.5 lakh crore, as compared to Rs 15 lakh crore from the last time.
The Finance Minister, in her speech, said, “Our government is committed to the welfare of farmers. At least 1.5 times the MSP of production cost will be given on all crops.” She said, “We have given 75 thousand crores more to the farmers. Payments to farmers have also been accelerated.” She said that 75,060 farmers have been paid for wheat and 10,503 crores for pulses. The payment amount of paddy is estimated to be 1,72,752 crores. In addition, the government will include 22 more products in exports.
Government’s big message on MSP
The government has once again sent a message through the budget to farmers seeking to enact laws on MSP and repeal agricultural laws. The Union Finance Minister has assured to continue procurement at MSP. In addition, the government announced to increase more beneficiaries under the Ujjwala scheme. The minister said that the free LPG scheme Ujjwala will be extended to 1 crore more beneficiaries. The government is still on its target of doubling the income of farmers by the year 2022. Prime Minister Modi has given direct cash amounts of more than 4 crores to farmers, women, etc.
The Finance Minister presented the budget digitally
The Modi government, which has been emphasizing Digital India since its first term, also changed the way the budget was presented. This is the first time the Finance Minister has read a paperless budget. Another step in Digital India’s campaign, the finance minister read the budget speech in Parliament through the tablet, that is, this time the budget was paperless. Before presenting the budget at 11 am on Monday morning, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman was also photographed with a tablet covered in red cloth.
