New Delhi, October 11 (IANS). PM Modi on Saturday inaugurated and laid the foundation stone of agricultural projects worth more than Rs 42 thousand crore by pressing the button of the remote.
He launched the Pradhan Mantri Dhan Dhanya Krishi Yojana with an outlay of Rs 24,000 crore, which aims to improve agricultural production, irrigation, credit, crop diversification and post harvest management in 100 aspirational districts.
Additionally, ‘Pulse Self-Reliance Mission’ was launched with an outlay of Rs 11,440 crore. Its objective is to ensure improvement in pulses productivity levels, expansion of area under pulses cultivation, strengthening the supply chain and reducing losses.
He inaugurated projects worth more than Rs 5,450 crore in the agriculture, animal husbandry, fisheries and food processing sectors. Besides, the foundation stone of additional projects worth about Rs 815 crore was also laid.
During his address at the program, PM Modi said that today the mood of the country has become such that we cannot be satisfied with just a few achievements.
He said, “To become developed, we have to continuously improve in every field. We have to make improvements. The proof of this thinking is the PM Dhan-Dhanya Krishi Yojana. The inspiration for this scheme has been the success of the Aspirational District Scheme.”
He said that aspirational districts are now performing better than other districts in many parameters.
He said that 100 districts have been selected for this scheme very thoughtfully. The districts have been selected on the basis of three parameters – the yield from the fields, the number of times a field is cultivated, the amount of loan or investment facilities available to farmers.
PM Modi said, “In this scheme we are combining 36 government schemes together. Livestock is also being given special attention under this scheme.”
He said that youth officers will also be responsible for this scheme.
Emphasizing his point, he said, “I am confident that the youth, together with fellow farmers, will change the picture of farming in 100 districts of the country. As soon as the picture of farming in any village changes, the economy of the entire village will change.”
Regarding ‘Pulse Self-Reliance Mission’, PM Modi said that this is not only a mission to increase pulse production, but also a campaign to empower our future generation. This mission will directly benefit 2 crore pulse farmers of the country.
He said, “In the last 11 years, the budget for agriculture has increased almost 6 times and our small farmers have benefited the most from this increased budget.”
–IANS
SKT/