Kisan Rail, Kisan Udan: Supply chain from farms to markets

To boost transport of farm produce and incomes, the Budget proposes

Kisan Rail

and

Kisan Udan

services for seamless connections between farms, markets and consumers.


Pitching agriculture and rural development as top priority of ‘aspirational India’, the Budget identified 16 action points to boost these sectors and allocated Rs 2.83 lakh crore for ongoing schemes and a few new measures to meet the goal of doubling farm income by 2022.

The Budget also aims to raise fishery exports to Rs 1 lakh crore in next five years with additional focus on blue economy. Besides, it has proposed an 11% increase in farm credit target to Rs 15 lakh crore for 2020-21 from the current year’s target of Rs 13.5 lakh crore.

Referring to marine fishery resources, finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman said her government would involve youth in fishery extension through 3,477 ‘Sagar Mitras’ and 500 fish farmer producers’ organisations.

Since availability of credit remains a roadblock to farm operations, the FM announced that beneficiaries of PM-Kisan (income support scheme) would be covered under Kisan Credit Card (KCC) scheme—a move which will help over 14 crore farmers get easy access to credit on low interest. KCC scheme, launched in 1998, has so far covered nearly 7 crore land holders. The cards help far mers avail short-ter m loans from banks for purchase of seeds, fertilizers, pesticides and other production needs.

Currently, India produces nearly 125 lakh tonnes of fish and exports fish and fishery products worth Rs 45,000 crore. Sitharaman proposed to increase fish production to 200 lakh tonnes by 2022-23 and said the government would promote growing of algae, sea-weed and cage culture.

Promotion of ‘one product one district’ for better marketing and export of horticulture crops, setting up of efficient warehouses at the block/taluk level, increasing coverage of artificial insemination (AI) of cattle from 30% at present to 70% and dovetailing MNREGS to develop fodder farms are other focus areas.

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